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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



The Pure Causeway 



BY 



Evelyn Harvey Roberts 



71 



CHICAGO 

CHARLES H. KERR & COMPANY 

56 Fifth Avenue 



1 






32459 



Copyright, 1899 
By Evelyn Harvey Roberts. 



Tfh 'TWO COP! _:iV£D, 

MAYS?;i 1899 







"There will a pure causeway arise, 
It will be called the Holy Way; 
The unclean will not pass over it, 
And fools will err elsewhere. 

"No lion will be there, 
No violent beast will come up thither, 
But thereon the redeemed will walk 
And JHVH's freed ones will return. 

"They will come to Zion with exultation 
And with everlasting joy upon their head; 
Gladness and joy will overtake them, 
Sorrow and sighing will flee away." 

ISAIAH. 



TO 

PROF. GEORGE D. HERRON 

THIS LITTLE BOOK 

IS INSCRIBED BY ONE WHO HAS 

LEARNED FROM HIM THAT THE SALVATION 

TAUGHT BY JESUS IS A SALVATION NOT FOR EACH BUT 

FOR ALL, AND THAT IT IS IN OUR POWER 

TO MAKE THIS SALVATION A 

PRESENT FACT. 



,•>,., 



PAET I. 
THE TEAVAIL OF THE AGES. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY. 

"Produce! Produce! Were it but the pitifullest infinitesi- 
mal fraction of a product, produce it in God's name!" 

These words, so much needed in this day, when 
men and women engage so wildly in unproductive 
toil, haunted me continually for a year or more, till 
I finally concluded to obey the command. 

I had long wished to write a book which would 
convince the world that in God's universe there is no 
such thing as secular life; and that all progress, along 
whatsoever line, has been made by the Eternal Spirit 
working through human instruments. Or, to word it 
differently, I longed to make it apparent to all classes 
of thinkers that the Christ-Life is the Light of men, 
whether it shines along the path of art, science, poli- 
tics, industry or morals. 

Naturally I shrank from work which required rare 
talents and exhaustive knowledge; but I finally cast 
my self-depreciation (or more probably my lack of 
faith in the power of the Infinite to transform and use 
the finite) to the winds and began. 



10 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

I was overwhelmed with the task, for my subject 
embraced all aspects of life, and no department could 
be slighted. 

In pursuance of my object I was attending a meet- 
ing at Cooper Union, held for the purpose of discuss- 
ing some of our present-day problems, when I was 
turned aside, for the present at least, from the work 
of writing the History of the World from Chaos to 
Order, and was led to record somewhat of the History 
of One Soul in its Struggles from Impotence to 
Power. 

It neither happened nor chanced, but took place 
on this wise: 

Just as the meeting was about to open, a young 
man of singular beauty entered and seated himself at 
my left. I was immediately and powerfully at- 
tracted to him, not simply on account of the outward 
beauty of face and figure, but because of the irrresist- 
ible influence which surrounds a strong personality. 

His whole bearing suggested power and purpose; 
yet I noticed a marked restlessness and anxiety which 
indicated a lack of poise, if not a positive weakness in 
the man. 

I felt impelled to seek his acquaintance. No op- 
portunity, however, appeared for some time, as he 
seemed absorbed in the addresses of the evening, his 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY \\ 

expressive face meanwhile affording an interesting 
study. 

Finally when the opening came for some advance 
on my part, he responded gracefully, though he 
baffled all my attempts to come into touch with the 
real self behind the dignified and reserved exterior. 

Was he boy or man, I wondered. The face 
looked like that of a youth of great refinement and 
purity, untouched as yet by the hardening process of 
the world. Yet his bearing suggested some years' ex- 
perience, as well as of a man's earnest purpose. 

In all probability, had it not been for a seemingly 
trifling circumstance, we would have been strangers 
to this day. 

But during an intermission in the programme, 
Louise (of whom you will hear more later) came to 
confer with me, and stood awhile chatting with her 
usual earnestness and vivacity. 

She certainly was a beautiful picture as she stood 
there in her simple dark green gown, which served 
to bring out the rich lights in her auburn hair and 
soft brown eyes. 

Almost immmediately I was aware of my neigh- 
bor's intense interest in her and I was moved to pro- 
long the conversation in order to use to the utmost 



12 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

the one influence which was to prove the open sesame 
to his heart. 

On returning from escorting Louise to her place 
I noticed a change in the attitude of the stranger on 
my left, for he now took the initiative in the con- 
versations which naturally spring up at such a gath- 
ering. It therefore seemed a natural and easy thing, 
at the end of the meeting; to suggest his returning 
with me to the hotel at which I was stopping, that I 
might show him a valuable work on one of the topics 
of the evening. 

We were soon cozily chatting by the fire; yet 
through all our conversation I could not but feel that 
something of more importance was to come. So it 
was no surprise when my new acquaintance, whose 
name, by the way, he had said was Alan Barrett, ex- 
claimed suddenly: "But, Martin, 1 don't care a fig just 
now about municipal matters. The real motive I had 
in accepting your hospitality was that I might dis- 
cover if possible the secret of the wonderful person- 
ality of your friend who came to speak with you at 
the meeting. 

"While she was talking I was marvelously im- 
pressed with the great contrast between her and the 
rest of the audience— unless, perhaps, I except you; 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 13 

for you too are noticeably different from the mass of 
men. 

"But as your friend stood there with a back- 
ground of careworn, nervous faces, she seemed like a 
vision of abounding life and joy. If you can explain 
such a phenomenon in this weary, prosaic world do 
so, for I need your help." 

His voice as well as his face bespoke sincerity, and 
believing that it was more than idle curiosity that 
made him speak as he did I replied: "Indeed I can 
explain and am if possible more anxious to do so than 
you are to have me. But, in order that I may know 
how best to present that which you so plainly need, 
you must tell me somewhat of yourself. Can we not 
cast aside all fear of being misunderstood and speak 
face to face as brothers? 

"You are plainly anxious for just the help that I 
can give you, but first tell me briefly how you came to 
feel as you do at present, anxious to do your part 
manfully, yet almost disgusted with the ones you 
would help." 

He gave me a piercing glance and seemed about 
to resent my diagnosis, but instead he relapsed into a 
reverie, intent upon past scenes and experiences. He 
was entirely oblivious to his present surroundings and 
so I was able to notice more critically than heretofore 



14 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

his well-proportioned, graceful figure and delicate, 
mobile face. His fine brow and brilliant blue eyes 
indicated great power of thought and feeling, while 
the lower part of the face revealed refinement and 
strength of will. 

What is the meaning of that evident dissatisfac- 
tion and restlessness, I wondered, impressed as I was 
more and more with his strong personality. Evi- 
dently he was of too fine a fiber to find satisfaction 
in the ordinary pursuits and ideals of ordinary men. 

A sudden flaring of the fire aroused him and start- 
ing up he exclaimed: 

"How long have I been wandering in the past, I 
wonder? I have been trying to review it as if it were 
another's, and this is the way it honestly impresses 

me: 

"The first twenty years seem to me now unusually 
happy ones; for, born as I was of upright and cultured 
parents, surrounded by an atmosphere of love, blessed 
also with every opportunity for physical, mental and 
moral development, I encountered none of the rough 
side of life, and so drifted merrily along on a wave of 
happiness. 

"Yet I really led two lives; one in the world of 
books, in Which my deeper feelings were aroused, for 
I was passionately fond of the poets, while outwardly, 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 15 

on the other hand, I was an ease-loving, rollicking, 
happy boy, content to let the future seek me, instead 
of hurrying into manhood's work. 

"Fm sure I don't know whether at that time this 
seeming lack of ambition was due to laziness pure and 
simple, or whether it was the outcome of a genuine 
modesty as to my own capabilities. 

"For though I never seemed anxious to work, I 
had high ideals of life and attainment and therefore 
found it more natural to appreciate and admire the 
beautiful in other men's work than to seek to realize 
it in my own. 

"If any one had told me at that time that I did not 
think deeply or truly I would have resented it, but 
now it seems to me that my emotional nature was 
much more developed than either the intellect or the 
will. 

"Having no cause to battle with the outer world 
of affairs and inheriting from noble parents tastes and 
tendencies which make for morality, I had little on 
which to exercise my will and my poetical tempera- 
ment made me feel rather than think things out. 

"While preparing to enter the legal profession I 
was stricken down by a disease which seemed to pre- 
clude any active life among men. 

"I rebelled at first, as any young person would, 



16 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

but later I came to think of this breakdown as the 
means used to turn me from law to letters. For 
though many had persistently encouraged me to 
write/ 1 had been too modest to think that I could ever 
do anything commendable in that line. 

"But being put where reading and writing were 
about the only things I could do, it seemed plainly 
indicated that/ for the present at least, my work lay 
in that direction. 

"I devoured everything that came to hand and 
read much more broadly than I had previously done. 
I naturally hated anything that savored of oppression 
and had often been deeply stirred by the anti-slavery 
writings of such men as Lowell. 

"Gradually I awoke to the fact that the wage 
slavery of to-day is condemning an ever-incr asing 
class to a bondage more intolerable than that of chat- 
tel slavery. For the blacks had the necessities of life 
and in many cases were care-free and happy, while 
the victims of our present system have fear for their . 
constant companion, even when starvation is not ac- 
tually at the door. 

"And as for the influences which threaten the 
morals of men, an honest student has to admit that 
the proletariat to-day meets temptation a hundred 
times where his black brother met it once. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 17 

"The more I studied into the matter the more con- 
vinced I became of the fact that here was my life 
work. And I gladly dedicated whatever power as a 
writer I possessed to the cause of freedom, preparing 
myself in every possible way to champion the dis- 
possessed. 

"All this time I was in gross ignorance as to the 
real creatures whose cause I espoused, for I had never 
known them except as I encountered them in books. 
But what an awakening was in store for me!" 

The sadness, almost amounting to despair, with 
which he spoke made my heart ache, but I only said: 

"So you are disappointed in the cause of Labor?" 

"Not that exactly," he replied. "It certainly 
needs help even more than I imagined, but what can 
one man do in the face of selfish power on one side 
and gross ignorance and selfishness on the other? 
Fm beginning to feel less sure about many things 
than I did once. What wouldn't I give to feel to* 
day as I did only a few years ago! But probably I 
am simply reaching the point to which all men must 
come, where joy and hope are only names — and duty 
is an indefinite shadow." And he laughed bitterly, 
though his eyes met mine with an appeal for help. 

"But you evidently recovered from your illness?" 
I said, to recall him to his narrative. 



18 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

"Oh, yes, to this extent, that with plenty of out- 
door life and no burdensome work I can devote 
enough time to my profession to support myself. 

"That word 'support' suggests where much of my 
trouble lies. If a man could work without a thought 
as to his bread and butter how different things would 
be! I simply couldn't allow my father to support me; 
and so my first efforts, when strength returned, were 
directed toward finding a market for my wares. 

."It had always been easy for me to write in a light 
vein of humor, and work of that sort soon found a 
market, and before I knew it I was devoting most of 
my time to such writing. It was so easy and brought 
in such a nice income, while my more earnest work 
did not seem to hit the mark and was often returned, 
with a request for something lighter. 

"At the end of a year I realized that I had vir- 
tually done nothing but amuse the public and make 

money. 

"This knowledge irritated and worried me, for I 

truly longed to do more than play the court fool. 
But my attempts to arouse the public to our real con- 
dition were unheeded and had no effect on the mad 
rush after place and power. 

"Once when mourning over my impotence a queer 
old gentleman bluntly said; "No wonder your serious 



9 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 19 

work is not appreciated, for you understand and ap- 
preciate neither mankind nor yourself/ 

"Of course I resented the accusation, but he 
simply retorted: 'You have been looking at life 
through books. Go to a large city like New York, 
use your own eyes and mind, while you identify your- 
self with the people you wish to help, and study the 
patient first-hand. When you can diagnose the case 
you may then have some hopes of suggesting a rem- 
edy for the disease that is at work on the vitals of hu- 
manity/ 

"On reflection his advice seemed pertinent, and so 
here I am; yet I almost wish that I had remained in 
ignorance of the sordid, mechanical mass of men, for 
it has almost killed my ambition. 

"Such blindness, such a lack of individuality, such 
meagerness of ideas and aspirations as you meet every- 
where! Pm honestly afraid that since knowing him 
in the flesh I don't care much for the average toiler. 
And often I am tempted to do just as many another 
better man than myself has done — leave the problem 
to others, and use the limitations and ignorance of 
society a.s a means of mounting on its shoulders to a 
place of ease and safety." 

"And so put yourself on a par with the scram- 
bling, preying masses?" I queried, 



20 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

"Well, perhaps that's what it would amount to," 
he reluctantly admitted, "but I certainly wouldn't 
write anything to harm them; and even now, if I only 
knew how, I'd be glad to help society to a life above 
mere existence." 

"May I ask what was the keynote of the message 
you tried to give to the public in your more serious 
writings?" 

Much to my surprise Barrett seemed quite em- 
barrassed and hesitated some time before replying: 
"It's queer, but this evening I see everything in a new 
light and am making confessions to you, an utter 
stranger, which I would be loath to admit to my dear- 
est friends. As it appears to me now, I really had 
no message to give. By that I mean that I had not 
worked out any belief of my own, but was instead 
merely a mouthpiece of other men." 

"Yet don't you believe that people only need to 
be awakened to the fact that our boasted civilization 
is but a refinement of cruelty, in order to change the 
present order of things?" 

"I cannot believe that man is so much like a beast 
of prey as to persist in his present worship of compe- 
tition when light is given him." 

"I agree with you, Barrett, always providing he 
has the power to extricate himself. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 21 

"I think you failed just because you did not pre- 
sent to the people the one hope which mankind has. 
Why didn't you reveal to them the only salvation pos- 
sible — Jesus Christ and him crucified?" 

A look of displeasure flitted across his face as he 
replied: "The churches have preached that for nearly 
two thousand years and slavery is as rampant as ever; 
it is only the forms of oppression that have changed. 
No, sir, don't speak to me of such things, when in our 
land to-day a few have so clutched at the sources of 
wealth that millions cannot get work at any price 
and those who do are devoid of peace of mind or 
health of body. Spare me any allusion to religious 
topics, for neither the church nor the Bible seem to 
me to meet the question of the day." 

In reply I said earnestly: "In spite of the fact that 
you are prejudiced and dislike such things, I beg you 
will bear with me while I ask you a few questions. 
If you are really in earnest, as I think you are, I will 
soon show you a sight which will give you joy, hope 
and faith in your fellow-man, yourself and your God 
— none of which you have now in any saving degree." 

He looked inquiringly at me and I could see his 
momentary irritation disappearing as he laughingly 
said: "Well, go ahead; I promise to be good, but don't 



22 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

expect much from me, as I warn you, you need never 
expect me to be a typical church member/' 

"God forbid !" I exclaimed, thereby causing much 
surprise in my companion. "There were enough 
church members years ago to have completely trans- 
formed the world, if it ever could be redeemed by 
such a standard as they hold. 

"Now before we go any further tell me honestly, 
Barrett, do you believe Christ exists — is he real to 
you?" 

After an embarrassed silence on his part he said: 
"If you had asked me that question two years ago I 
would have tried to say yes. But I can see now that 
he is real to me in exactly the same way that other 
characters in history are, and no more." 

"Then, though you believe in a dead Savior, you 
cannot apprehend a living one who is continually 
working at the same task you undertook, 'to shine 
upon them that sit in darkness and to guide our feet 
in the way of peace/ 

"But if you could know him enough to believe in 
him would you risk everything in the cause and cease 
your useless though harmless writings?" 

He gave me a piercing look as the blood mounted 
to his forehead and springing up he paced up and 
down the room, saying: 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 23 

"You couldn't get one out of a thousand of your 
church members to give up his own support and de- 
vote himself to preaching the gospel, and how can you 
expect that I would be able to make such a sacrifice ?" 

"Then you think Incarnate Wisdom was either 
ignorant of his world and his laws or else was merely 
talking to kill time when he said: "Seek ye first (mak- 
ing your first object in life) the establishment of the 
Kingdom of God; and all these things (material ne- 
cessities for which the church as well as the world is 
striving) shall be added unto you'? 

"Probably he really meant to say: Seek first of all 
your own welfare and advancement by competing 
with your brothers, forging ahead to a position of in- 
dustrial safety, even though to do that many weak 
ones must suffer, and when by the superior talents 
given you by the Father of all you have reached a 
position of advantage, give what you can spare to the 
injured ones. 'So shall ye be my disciples/ " 

Barrett had stopped walking and stood looking 
down at me with a clear, cold, penetrating glance, 
which made me await his reply with interest. 

"You've hit the nail on the head, Martin, for that 
is precisely what the typical churchman is doing, 
while pretending to believe in non-resistance, meek- 
ness, self-abnegation and the like. 



24 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

"If the church would but do the things she 
preaches, we would have to believe in her, and in her 
religion. But as it is, the church having failed to 
live up to her theory of life, individuals would be mad 
to attempt such idealism. 

"And so we might as well be honest and admit 
that we are all in darkness; and I for one am sick of 
the whole thing, sick of mankind, sick of my own 
puny, powerless self, and am often tempted to say 
with the rest, 'Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we 
die!' " And the poor boy flung himself down relaxed 
and spiritless. 

Rising from my chair I took from the table drawer 
a manuscript, and, going up to him as he sat the pic- 
ture of despair, I said: "Barrett, you have reached the 
point where you have to admit that the moral man 
(in the popular sense of the word), the natural man, 
no matter how good he may be, is powerless in the 
face of the world's great distress. 

"A number of my classmates reached the same 
point a few years ago and would have joined the 
great chorus of 'Vanity of vanities, all is vanity/ had 
they not been led to feel the power of the resurrection 
from dead faith to living works. And day after to- 
morrow, if you will go with me, you shall see the 
convincing miracle — the Word made flesh. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 25 

"But first I want you to read this sketch of how 
these friends were led to obey the truth in unfeigned 
love. And I also want you to read it in the light of 
these passages in the Bible which I have marked," 
handing him as I spoke a Bible marked so that each 
verse referred to the next. 

"Take time, to-morrow, to read all I've asked you 
and come to me in the evening. 

"Then whether you feel any differently from the 
present or not, if you are willing, we will go together 
to visit a city whose builder and maker is God." 

He still seemed devoid of energy; but rising he 
took the Bible and manuscript as I had requested and 
bade me "good-night," evidently too tired and dis- 
couraged to be either opposed to or interested in my 
suggestion. 

However, by the next afternoon he became some- 
what curious as to the contents of my manuscript, and 
so, settling himself comfortably, he read the follow- 
ing memoranda, gathered from diaries, letters and 
notes, which tell in outline of the birth of a move- 
ment which in time will "make all things new." 



AN EXTEACT FROM MY OWN DIARY WRITTEN 
WHILE IN COLLEGE. 

June 1, 1882. Whew! how near we are to the 
end! Only a few days more and our class will sepa- 
rate forever. But Pll be glad to get through, for 
Fm determined to pitch right into the fray, and HI 
make a name for myself if it takes a leg. 

What a bang-up time we had this afternoon! I 
don't usually care for picnics, but our "Thirteen 
Club" certainly makes an exceptionally nice little 
party and I can thank sentimental old Stafford for 
proposing one more trip up the lake before the end 
of the term. 

And the girls quite outdid themselves in the mat- 
ter of lunch, despite Jim's protest against luxurious 
living. I noticed, too, that he didn't hesitate to do 
the said luncheon ample justice. When Olive rallied 
him on the discrepancy between his theory and prac- 
tice, he crawled, as those who pose as reformers always 
have to, saying that he could at least do his part to 
prevent any of the grub having to be carried back 
again. 

After the grubbing process we all gathered by the 
lake to watch one of the most beautiful sunsets I've 
ever seen. 

26 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 27 

A boisterous wind was blowing the clouds across 
the heavens at highest speed, and the rapid motion of 
amber and red clouds, mixed as they were with others 
resembling smoke, gave the effect of a great conflagra- 
tion, the reflection in the water intensifying it all a 
hundred-fold. 

The colors gradually paled and we all settled our- 
selves to await the moon and have a farewell chat. 

Stafford made the doleful remark that probably 
we would never again be all together "with nobody by 
to hinder," and that started the girls in a vein of sen- 
timent which I could have dispensed with, for such 
talk bores me to death. 

However, it rather becomes the feminine gender, 
and Helen was a perfect picture as she sat there in 
the moonlight. But Olive seemed the most bewitch- 
ing of all, with her dark, rich beauty and fascinating 
ways; and when she read our futures in the palms of 
our hands she seemed a veritable gypsy. 

Such fun! I could not but wonder if some of the 
guesses would prove to be true, and here they are for 
future reference: 

Florence — A life of ease, blessed with good health, 
terminating in a happy home; for she marries and 
lives happily ever after." 

Louise— Capable of anything— yet never quite 
succeeding because led astray by the women suf- 
fragists. 

Helen— A perfect success on the operatic stage — 
the favorite of the day. 



28 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

Hilman — A queer stick, dabbling in the black 
arts, till lured from his hobby by the one who was to 
be his better half. (Of course, as he is an heir to an 
enormous fortune, Olive meant herself. But the old 
boy didn't seem to see the point.) 

Doc — An erratic idealist and reformer, who ends 
his days in the woods eating bread-fruit, because the 
cold world turns him out. 

Don — At first an anarchist, socialist and what not, 
who undertakes great things for mankind, but ends 
by doing just as everybody else does. 

(He didn't like that a bit — maybe because he's 
afraid he will.) 

Jove! I'm too sleepy to finish — no time like to- 
morrow for left-overs. 

Commencement Day, June 13, 1882. Ye gods and 
little fishes, what an oration that boy gave us! I al- 
ways knew he could take a house by storm if he would 
let himself out. But what a bomb he threw into the 
enemy's camp! (which of course includes every one but 
himself). 

It's a pity he hasn't another hobby, for he could 
rise to the top of the heap if he'd take a more popular- 
course. I wonder if he won't meet some tragic end. 
Poor Don, we all love him in spite of his fanaticisms, 
and it was great fun to see him strike out from the 
shoulder in the face of all the elite — they looked as if 
they were having a shower bath or were tasting per- 
simmons. He certainly was fine and succeeded in 
stirring me up for the space of two minutes and a half! 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 29 

If he could keep that sort of thing up I might get 
interested myself in the submerged tenth. However 
it's a personal matter to him, having come from some 
lower strata. I wonder why he doesn't turn his back 
on it all and devote his energies to his own rise in the 
world? 

June 18, 1882. So it's all over, and now for work. 
I'm going to dig right at my profession through sum- 
mer and winter, for I'm bound to succeed. 

Wonder what reports we'll each give when our 
club meets ten years hence. 

When Hilman urged us all so earnestly to move 
heaven and earth to be at the reunion he looked al- 
most uncanny. What is the old boy up to, anyway? 
He's queer enough, goodness knows, and if he werpn't 
as rich as Croesus he wouldn't be so popular. But 
then of course we all bow down to him and Went- 
worth because they hold the money-bags. 

But I'll have the world at my feet, too, some day — 
for I'm headed for the top o' the heap! 

The following letters passed between a few of us during 
the ten years between graduation and our reunion and help 
to indicate the change of thought and surroundings which 
some of our circle experienced. 

Letter from the Doctor ("Jim") to Don: 

New York, Dec. — , 1885. 
The Hon. Thomas Cornelson, Blank Street, Blankety 
Blank Blank: 
In fact, as far as your old friends are concerned 



30 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

you are a complete blank. Can't you let an old com- 
rade know somewhat of your whereabouts and how- 
abouts? 

Because of culpable neglect on your part I am 
daily picturing you as being worn to the bone with all 
your exertions in behalf of the oppressed. 

We might as well be at the antipodes as far as see- 
ing each other is concerned. You failed egregiously 
in the matter of our club letter. Why in the world 
didn't you write? Have yQu had a tumble from your 
high horse and are ashamed to let us know it? 

Don't be a chump, Don; we all take headers occa- 
sionally; and besides I've seen something of your 
brilliant efforts as chronicled in the daily press. You 
apparently have held your own in spite of squalls and 
tempests, but I've had to trim my sails a trifle to 
make use of the favoring winds that came my way. 
So if we should run across each other you would see 
me submitting to the atrocities of civilization — such 
as a "biled" shirt and collar, all because Vanity Fair 
approves of such absurdities. 

As you neglected to let me know where our circu- 
lar letter would reach you, it is probable that you 
know very little about the rest of the thirteen. 

Olive made a brilliant match the following win- 
ter after graduation and now queens it among the 
four hundred. 

Helen has a promising future, not only because 
of her personal beauty, but owing to her voice, which 
is proving, under cultivation^ to be of the finest qual- 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 31 

ity. Before long I expect we will be receiving com- 
plimentary tickets to the opera to witness her tri- 
umphs. 

That man Hilman, though an ideal "catch/' has 
somehow escaped the snares laid by devoted mammas 
and is still a bachelor of great popularity. I begin to 
realize that I misjudged him entirely while in college. 
Instead of the trifier I thought him, there is really 
originality and strength beneath the veneer of friv- 
olous cynicism. 

He has great application, too, though you'd never 
imagine it to see him sauntering through a ballroom 
enveloped in his blase air, which I feel quite sure is 
assumed as a protection amidst the artificialities of 
society. 

You'd laugh to see me going through the tortures 
of a reception or an "evening at home." 

But it is all done from policy — a mere matter of 
business, you know, to keep in good standing with my 
patients. 

Have you heard anything as to Elizabeth? Noth- 
ing of interest has come my way. She is still at her 
home in New England, I surmise, going on as usual in 
the even tenor of her way. 

She impressed me in college as a little too good 
for this workaday world; and yet there were indi- 
cations occasionally of a strong personality which 
made me wonder what would have been the result if 
she had grown up in a different environment from 
that of her honie, 



32 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

Now, Don, do write me a line to stir me from the 
time-serving state in which I am fallen. When I con- 
trast my ideals of college days, or even my present 
inmost convictions regarding the proper use of life, 
with my everyday work amongst the most artificial of 
people, I feel like a sham and a failure. Instead of 
working heart and soul to change our present system, 
I am in a way maintaining it, just as truly as lawyers 
and clergymen who fatten on the system (though not 
many of the clergy are overburdened with blood- 
money). 

It's a humiliating thought, and I despise myself 
when I stop to think that I minister to the bodily 
woes of those whose troubles are due to the fact that 
they have never done a stroke of honest productive 
work in their lives. 

Yet one must have bread, and when there is a wife 
depending on you for support it complicates things. 

A glimpse of two faces in a ballroom mirror 
brought up such thoughts afresh. It so happened that 
I saw both Hilman's and my own at a glance, and the 
utter lack of all expression in both faces startled me. 

Truly this life is deadening! 

Yet to-morrow I shall be at it again, and for what? 
That filthy lucre which men have agreed to value. 

The cock crows and I must turn in. Again I say, 
write, if only to assure me that you don't quite de- 
spair of a double-minded man who knows only too 
well that he is unstable in all his ways. Yours fra- 
ternally, James Wilson. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 33 

Hilman to the Doctor: 

New York, Feb. — , 1886. 
Dear Old Humbug: 

Who would imagine, seeing vou bending the knee 
to idle aristocrats, that you ever regaled your class- 
mates in college with dissertations on socialism, an- 
archy and the like! How are the mighty fallen! And 
Fm truly sorry, for although I never cared twopence 
for your hobbies I hate to see a man give the lie to 
his belief the way you have. Possibly you think I 
have no right to throw stones at you, but then, you 
know, I never professed a belief in human nature, as 
you were so fond of doing, and have seemingly drifted 
with the tide, having been born into this circle of 
paupers. But you! Why, you might have kept free 
from such a Dance of Death and dedicated your life 
to the bringing in of a better day! Are you as happy 
to-day, even though you are a successful physician, as 
you were the day you graduated? I frankly confess 
I'm not. Fve tried to play the role that seemed to be 
expected of me in society, but it bores me to death, 
and henceforth Fll be a free man. I've signed my 
Declaration of Independence and from now on I'm 
going to give my whole time and attention to the one 
thing that really interests me. I should have died 
of ennui ere this if it had not been for my hobby, and 
when you want a change come up to my snug bachelor 
apartments and you may see some scientific experi- 
ments of interest. Fve a great scheme on hand. It 
came to me like a flash in the middle of the night 



34- THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

years ago, and I'll carry it through if it takes all my 
shekels and the rest of my life. 

Come soon, old boy, and give me a glimpse of the 
crank of Auld Lang Syne. 

Have you really succumbed at heart to the magic 
of the Almighty Dollar or are you wearing the 
shackles of a rotten society only for a time? 

What do you think of the latest in regard to Olive? 
Her reign was a short one. But that cad of a hus- 
band is small loss and if there can be enough saved 
from the wreck to support her and the children it may 
be a gain after all. In the hopes of seeing yOu soon, 
yours, C. A. Hilman. 

Extracts from Elizabeth's letter to Olive: 

Pine Centre, K H. 
My Dear Friend Olive: 

How my heart aches for you! Yet it has taken 
me all this time to make up my mind to attempt a 
letter to you. How much better if we could only talk 
instead of having to write! And that is the real rea- 
son I have for writing, for I want you to invite me to 
come to you. I'm sure I can help you to straighten 
things out and start afresh, and I am especially eager 
to do so, as there are now no home ties to keep me. 
You know my immediate family was never large, and 
since graduation the two remaining ones have been 
taken from me. 

I do not see how I could have endured the last few 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 35 

years if I had not had faith in the One who "doeth all 
things well." 

Now do say "yes" to my proposition, for we need 
each other, and so I await your answer in the hopes 
that yon will tell me to come. Very lovingly, your 
friend, Elizabeth. 

To fill in the blanks somewhat I will explain that 
Olive's husband lost almost everything in speculation, 
dying a few days afterward from the shock, and leav- 
ing Olive in very straitened circumstances. It was a 
hard experience for the poor girl and for awhile it 
seemed likely to embitter her life. Accustomed as 
she had always been to homage and flattery, she could 
not adjust herself immediately to the new situation. 
Her society friends dropped away, and, having lost 
her nearest relatives early in life, she had no one to 
aid her except Elizabeth, who rose to the occasion 
with wonderful tact and ability. 

It was at this period that I began to see how little 
I had appreciated Elizabeth while at college. She 
had always impressed me as a girl of good parts, 
spoiled by too much religion. She always irritated 
me, for I couldn't quite believe in her apparent love 
for church life. There seemed to be a genuine fire in 
her which was smothered by pietism. We weren't 
the best of friends, for I never could refrain from 
twitting her, even going so far as to urge her to dis- 
pense with her mask of religiousness and be herself. 

Of course it only had the effect of widening the 



36 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

breach between us; for she couldn't see any better 
than most church-goers that her beliefs were mainly 
inherited ones, instead of being the result of courage- 
ous and independent thought on her part. However, 
maybe such second-hand ideas do more good than I 
used to imagine. 

But to return to the time of Olive's trouble. 
Shortly after her husband's death Elizabeth rented a 
small flat for them both, with the object of forming 
a home center in the poorer part of the city, not only 
for Olive and the children but for the needy ones 
around her. 

Don Quixote, as we had always called him, or 
Thomas Cornelson, as his parents had named him, 
was in the thick^of the fight all these years. 

His parents had come from the self-respecting 
plain people, but at the time of Don's birth they were 
far down the scale in the great army of toilers who 
earn a precarious living and are obliged to live amid 
sights and sounds which tend toward degradation. 

Inheriting from his parents great physical 
strength, a clear intellect, and an indomitable will, 
he entered the arena of life at a great advantage over 
the majority in similar conditions. 

He attended night school for years and gradually 
worked his way up, so that, having won the good will 
of his last employer, he was enabled to enter college, 
though not till \\e was some years older than most of 
us.' He appreciated his privileges and worked with a 
will. But though in every way fitted to attain high 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 37 

standing, he passed by the allurements of scholar- 
ships, prizes, etc., in order to give his whole time to 
preparing for his future work. 

In a word, a great life-work was calling him and 
he could not stoop to the usual ambitions of mankind. 

Accustomed as he was to attend the debating so- 
cieties, he rarely took part, though I always wondered 
at the intensity of feeling in his face and the passion 
in his voice when he did favor us with a speech. 

He was alive and we were not; that was the differ- 
ence. Still we could not understand why one who 
was a born orator should care so little about using 
his power. 

It was probably just because he knew he did not 
need the practice, and so he bent all his energies to 
acquiring facts — col'd, hard facts of human life, of 
industry, of law, of anything that would aid him in 
his efforts to fit himself as the champion of the down- 
trodden masses. 

During the years between our graduation and re- 
union he was developing wonderfully and soon his 
name appeared in connection with the Labor Move- 
ment, and he beeame a power in the cause. 

As for the rest of our circle of thirteen, there had 
been the usual amount of successes and disappoint- 
ments that fall to the lot of man. Wentworth, after 
various ups and downs, had increased his original 
fortune through Wall Street manipulations, so that he 
was at the time of our reunion in that most dangerous 
of positions — falsely called perfect independence. I 



38 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

never understood him well, for he was a curious mix- 
ture of recklessness and caution, frankness and re- 
serve, which made him difficult to read. 

Grey had entered the ministry and we knew very 
little about him personally, though he stood high in 
his profession. 

He had never been a favorite among us, owing to 
his tinge of ecclesiasticism, which repels most healthy 
young people. 

Florence and Louise had made little stir in the 
world, and Winter and Stafford had both followed 
occupations as most young men do, in which they had 
no real interest but in order to "make a living/' as 
the world calls it — though it's at best only an exist- 
ence. 

As the date for our reunion drew near we each 
received an invitation from Hilman to meet at his 
rooms in New York. 

His note was puzzling, for, while his former cyni- 
cism appeared, there was an imperiousness in the note 
as a whole which belied the trifling words. Our curi- 
osity was aroused and we all responded in person. 

He received us with his customary grace and we 
were soon at ease, despite the first feeling of strange- 
ness which is bound to creep in after years of separa- 
tion. Jim, the last but one to arrive, rejoiced that 
Stafford, as of old, had saved him from bringing up 
the rear, and when that laggard appeared we all broke 
out spontaneously with the college yell. 

For a short time it seemed as if the good old days 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 39 

had returned, for we were all anxious to appear at 
our best and threw ourselves into the fun of the hour 
as if Father Time had made the sun stand still not 
for hours but years. 

Jim's inimitable laugh and roguLh face added to 
the illusion, and had it not been for Hilman, the arch- 
enemy of our peace, we probably would have suc- 
ceeding in deceiving each other, as most people do, 
and would Lave separated in the belief that we were 
each and all satisfied with life. 

But this was not to be, and when refreshments 
were announced we walked out unsuspectingly to 
our fate. 

Even during the usual repartee and fun incident 
to seating ourselves at the tabb nothing seemed to 
sound quite right. And almost immediately we real- 
ized that the words we spoke were only so much 
sound, verily but a gibbering speech, for the only 
things that really impressed us were the innermost 
thoughts of one and all. 

Instantly the gay conversation was followed by a 
silence which not only might be but was felt by all. 

The expressions of the faces were enough to kill 
any attempt at pretense — dismay, fear, anger and hor- 
ror reigned in conjunction. 

The overwhelming knowledge that we stood re- 
vealed in each other's sight savored of the Judgment 
Day, and we gazed at each other appalled. 

The silence was broken at last by Hilman as he 



40 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

asked: "Well, what do you think of it, my bonnie 
friends?" 

"Explain it, man! Don't trifle with us," said Don. 
"Are we dreaming or stark mad? Speak!" 

"With all my heart," replied Hilman, around 
whose mouth a curious smile was playing. "While 
the rest of you have been skimming along on the sur- 
face of things I have had the good fortune to find an 
entrance into the mysteries of life. 

"In college you thought me a trifler who ignored 
the serious side of life; yet even there I was getting a 
good start in the scientific studies "which have fasci- 
nated me ever since. It would be impossible here to 
explain in detail the researches I have made or the re- 
sults attained. Suffice it to say that, being convinced 
of the great wonderland of mysteries lying all around 
us in the spiritual realm, I determined that if time, 
patience and scientific knowledge, backed by money, 
would make it possible to discover the key to the 
psychical world, it should be done. 

"For the last few years I have studied, early and 
late, into any branch of knowledge that might aid 
me, and I have discovered a secret akin to the rays 
which reveal the hidden things of the physical body, 
so that now the inner life of the mind may be known. 

"The spiritual forces need certain conditions in 
order to be made manifest to us, just as in the physical 
world, so-called, the electrical forces, though always 
operative, need to be revealed to the sons of men. 

"Through the use of this harmless-looking instru- 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 41 

ment," holding up a small article, "it is possible to 
enter and read the secrets of the mind, and all that 
remains for us to do now is to start on our voyage of 
discovery and learn to know what is in man." 

"But man alive," broke in Wentworth, "this is un- 
canny! You are a veritable wizard, a dealer in the 
dark arts! How dare you tamper with such mys- 
teries?" 

"That's it exactly — I dare anything rather than 
dwindle down into a mere nonentity. No, sir, it's not 
the researches into the hidden that menace our safety 
and peace — rather is it the persistent ignoring of the 
mysteries, the desire to live at ease on the surface of 
things, oblivious of the truths that press in upon us 
from all sides. 

"The man or woman who plays the part of a but- 
terfly or mere machine is the real foe of humanity. 
An honest endeavor to know the mysteries of the life 
surrounding us is the first step toward an emanci- 
pated life." 

We were amazed beyond measure to see Hilman in 
his true light and the revelation of his earnestness 
was almost as bewildering as was his wonderful dis- 
covery and invention. 

Olive, the first to recover from the surprise, ex- 
claimed: "Is it possible that this is Hilman, the frir- 
olous? The man is actually in earnest at last! Who 
would ever have dreamed that he, of all men, could go 
beneath the surface of things?" 

"It's true, nevertheless, and I'll venture to say be- 



42 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

fore we are done with this discovery of mine that 
many other of our early estimates,, which we thought 
quite true, will be reversed. 

"And now to the point. This is my proposal: In 
view of the great revelation, possible because of this 
key to the mind, I want the co-operation of each and 
all of you in examining and recording the real phe- 
nomena of life. 

"Will you all join me in the study of man?" 

A silence followed, each waiting for another to 
take the initiative. 

"What! Are you all afraid to venture into the Un- 
known Country lying so near us? What do you say 
to it, Elizabeth? Any one could see from your face, 
even if your mind were hidden, that you are more 
and more puzzled by the problems of life and are grad- 
ually finding out that it is not the simple affair of 'Be 
good and you'll be happy' which you once thought it. 
But enough of this experiment for the present. Let's 
adjourn to the next room, where we can talk under 
cover, as it were — the humiliating exposures not being 
possible there." 

Before he had finished we had all reached the safe 
retreat of the reception room in undignified haste, and 
the feeling of relief at being once more protected from 
our friends was indescribable! 

Then followed an, animated discussion as to the 
advisability of undertaking this voyage of discovery, 
not to unknown continents or planets, but to the most 
interesting of all realms — the mind of man. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 43 

Some were influenced by curiosity to urge the ex- 
periment; others wished to use this key in enlarging 
their knowledge of man in order to serve the race, and 
only three opposed the idea — Helen, Stafford and 
Winter. 

Hilman urged us to agree to his suggestion, saying 
that we represented many interests of life and with 
little trouble could study a number of phases of the 
curious animal, man, adding: "During the last few 
years, in which I have lived as a free man, using only 
what I needed instead of what society would have dic- 
tated, my large income has rolled up amazingly, and 
that shall be used to defray all expenses incident to 
our test. Those who are willing to give their whole 
time to it can thus be freed from anxiety and go on 
their way unhampered. 

"How different history would read if we could 
each pursue noble and useful work freed from anxiety 
about our support!" 

"Hurrah for the socialist! I knew you'd ccme to 
it in time," cried Doc. "My arguments have had 
some effect after all !" 

"Don't flatter yourself, Jim. To convert a think- 
ing man you'd have to cease thriving on Plutocracv, 
as you've done for the last ten years. You who criti- 
cise church members for inconsistencies had better 
beware how you preaeh one thing and live another." 
This from Elizabeth, with flashing eyes. 

"But," he remonstrated, "don't you see that we've 



44 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

got to educate people up to socialistic ideas before 
they can be put into practice? 

"It would be idiotic for one man, under our pres- 
ent conditions, to attempt a socialistic mode of life. 
Besides, one man here and there cannot adopt a so- 
cialistic programme, for a body of men is absolutely 
necessary to socialism/' 

"Exactly. That is the reason why men can truth- 
fully claim that Christianity has never been tried, for 
a body of men and women is needed before it can be 
•attempted. So don't ever again let me hear you ac- 
cusing church members of insincerity — you who are 
in the same predicament!" 

A storm seemed brewing, which Hilman dispelled 
by saying: "Don't let's waste time in arguments 
which never convince. But I must protest, Jim, 
against being called a socialist, for the minute a man 
dubs himself by any party name he immediately takes 
sides against all other parties and so shuts his eyes to 
the good that is in them. 

"But to return to the matter in hand. I see you 
are all willing now to join with me in the work, and 
so I would suggest that each one try to search into the 
inner life of whatever sphere you have been most fa- 
miliar with superficially, unless from a strong interest 
some are drawn to look into other walks of life." 

After a little more discussion as to details and a 
thorough explanation as to the use of the test, we 
separated, promising to meet a year from our reunion, 
ready to divulge all our discoveries. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 45 

While acting as Elizabeth's escort home that even- 
ing I persisted in my former unfortunate habit of call- 
ing her to account, for in speaking of our pomise to 
Hilman I said: 

"I suppose you'll choose as your sphere the ex- 
clusive club known popularly as the church?" 

"Certainly," she replied, "for that is not only the 
life I have been most in touch with, but it is also that 
which interests me most." 

"Elizabeth, why is it that you shut your eyes to 
the real state of things, admiring that which is a 
make-believe, and burying yourself in such futile 
work as the church is doing, when you might be a real 
power if you'd only be yourself, freed from ecclesiasti- 
cism?" 

"For a genuine student to plunge recklessly into a 
subject of which he knows nothing is truly amazing!" 
she retorted. "I'll venture to say that you haven't 
been inside of a church three times this year. And 
even if you had gone to every public service possible, 
you would know about as much of the real church 
work as I would of the progress made in entomology 
should I spend my time examining bugs and beetles 
at a museum. Your earnest work in such lines would 
make you resent my idiotic attempts at information 
and you'd tell me to put myself in touch with the live 
workers." 

"Well, even so," I replied, "for your own sake I 
warn you not to probe into the inner church. Keep 
that dear delusion to buoy you up through life. I 



46 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

know more than you think I do of the church mili- 
tant; enough, I assure you, to appreciate the fitness of 
the name, for it is always fighting, the only trouble 
being that it is generally internecine warfare." 

With peculiar dignity Elizabeth ended the discus- 
sion by saying: "Frank Martin, the church has been 
a true friend to me when in sorrow and I cannot allow 
you to talk that way, especially as Fm sure you get 
your information at least second-hand. But before 
we part let me congratulate you on your progress in 
entomology. It is said we grow like our associates 
and it is illustrated in your case, for since this even- 
ing's experience I can truly say that you have become 
a perfect fe^bear!" And with that parting shot and 
a merry laugh she entered her home. 

On musing over the events of the evening, while 
smoking a cigar before the glowing coals, I could not 
but realize the marked change which was apparent in 
most of us. Helen, though beautiful, seemed heart- 
less and altogether self-centered, Don careworn and 
restless, and Jim — well, he certainly did not seem like 
the hopeful, jolly boy we used to know. Olive and 
Elizabeth had changed more than any of the rest of us 
except Hilman, and, strange to say, seemed to have 
exchanged places in our circle. We used to think 
Olive was the strongest character among the girls, 
but now she appears overwhelmed and restless, as 
well she might, considering the hard experiences of 
the past few years, while Elizabeth, who used to oc- 
cupy an unimportant place among us, was the magnet 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 47 

for all eyes this evening, and although she said little 
her personality was felt by all. 

She certainly is not the goody-goody little body 
we used to know, yet her ideals seem higher than ever 
and I must win her respect. Confound it! What 
made me speak to her in the way I did to-night? I 
seem bound to antagonize her, when I really want her 
to think well of me. So it ended by my wasting the 
midnight oil and much paper in an attempt at an 
explanatory note, which, though unsatisfactory to me, 
was mailed to her the next morning. As near as I 
can recall, it ran like this: 

Thursday Evening, June — , 1892. 
My Dear Friend Elizabeth: 

I feel sure you misunderstood me to-night. What 
I said, in endeavoring to prevent your investigation of 
church life, was due to my earnest desire to guard 
you from an unnecessary shock. 

Take the word of your senior, in experience as well 
as years, that it does no good to know life in its reality. 
We are happy only on the condition of keeping some 
dear delusion all our lives. 

I fear we were foolish to agree to Hilman's plan. 
Before the year is out I prophesy that we will not have 
the courage to face each other; for when we know hu- 
man nature like a book we shall all be misanthropes. 

So it seems wiser to me to continue in our chosen 
work, you in the slums and I in the insect world, 
rather than to rob ourselves of all hope and faith by 



48 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

probing too deeply into that which for the most part 
is "vanity of vanities." Be warned in time by one 
who is truly your friend, Frank Martin. 

Her answer, though not flattering, has been among 
my treasures ever since: 

Friday Evening, St., N. Y. 

Dear Frank: 

For the sake of Auld Lang Syne I'll take the 
trouble to answer a man who knows little about 
human life. How could you, indeed, absorbed as you 
are in your study of diminutive creatures? I would 
advise you to come out of your den, devote yourself 
for awhile to the earnest study of the human animal 
and leave the insects in undisturbed happiness for 
awhile. If you should do so you might learn at least 
one thing, which is that you can never "know human 
nature like a book." For it grows, sir! Didn't you 
know that the race is alive, and that because of life 
and progress the facts in regard to man change, and 
that "they must upward still and onward who would 
keep abreast of Truth." 

You speak of being misunderstood. Let me say- 
that you certainly fail to understand me, for there is 
something I fear much more than losing my faith in 
the church, and that is that I may refuse to know the 
truth. 

In all kindness I want to say that I would prefer to 
receive no more advice from a book-worm till the year 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 49 

is ended, and by that time the worm may have devel- 
oped some wings of faith that will prove a blessing to 
mankind. Yours in the cause of a larger life, 

Elizabeth Adams. 



As my ambition had been and still was to make 
a great name for myself in my particular line, 
I did not care to spend much time in using the test, 
and furthermore I was such a recluse and so little 
in sympathy with my fellow-man that I made but 
bungling work when I did attempt to examine his 
inner life. 

So my valueless report of my year's inspection 
will not be inserted, for though at the time of our 
meeting I considered my contribution of some ac- 
count, I can see now that it is really worthless. De- 
voted as I had been to my specialty, I had separated 
myself too much from the common life to understand 
in the least the crude beginnings of the ideal man 
which were all around me. 

When Hilman called us together at the end of the 
year we were asked to meet at our old rendezvous of 
college days, the beautiful spot by the lake. 

We reached the hotel in the town the evening be- 
fore, in order to have the whole of the following day 
for our reports, and when we were assembled on the 
lake shore we were all ready for the business of the 
day. 

In the beautiful environment of nature we prob- 



50 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

ably spoke more freely than we could have done 
amid the prejudicing influences of city life. 

Hilman brought the meeting to order and called 
upon Wentworth for the first report. 

With real solemnity he began by quoting from 
Sprague the sentiment: "God and history, ethics and 
humanity, call just as loudly for industrial as for po- 
litical democracy. No tyranny was ever more intol- 
erable than the tyranny of private wealth." 

"I can appreciate that last statement as never be- 
fore, because of what I have seen during the last year. 
And our well-known quotation from Livy that 'Avar- 
ice and luxury have been the ruin of every great state' 
ought to be a warning to America. You all know my 
former predilection for Wall street operations, for I 
used to spend my time in stock gahibling. And all 
though my conscience occasionally troubled me, I was 
able to quiet it, as we all can when we wish to. But 
now that I have seen the inner life of the Street, I 
will have nothing more to do with it except as an an- 
tagonist, for it is nothing more nor less than traffick- 
ing in blood! I have come to know the beast whose 
lair is in Wall street and from this day forth I shall 
fight Plutocracy with all my strength. Of course you 
think it no use, but from my studv of the birth and 
history of the monster I am hopeful as to its final con- 
quest and death. Although at first a seemingly harm- 
less creature, the offspring of the mental life of a few 
gentlemen of the last century, it has fattened on the 
best of the land till it has become the vampire of the 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 51 

American republic. When these gentlemen formed 
the combination, in 1792, for the purchase and sale 
of stocks, they instituted the most grossly cannibal- 
istic system the world has yet seen. At first the beast 
fattened on the blood sucked from the veins of the 
republic; but, increasing in power, it now has the 
nation by the throat and is sucking our heart's blood. 
For is not money the circulatory system of our coun- 
try? And must not anything which interrupts its 
free action be a menace to our national life? 

"The beast has produced offspring which, like 
itself, have been reared on blood and will feed on 
nothing else. You can see them any day in the Stock 
Exchange — a brood of monstrosities, half man, half 
beast. 

"The Exchange is an excellent place to study the 
species, but they often leave their lair and wander all 
over our fair country in search of prey. The first day 
I tried the test I could have sworn I was in Dante's 
Inferno — such a seething, restless mass of evil spirits 
surged around me. I was certainly in the place where 
'their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched/ 
I saw the real creatures, instead of their masks of flesh 
and bones, and though some were simply the personi- 
fication of Dread, pursued as they were by the 
fear of being outwitted and overcome by others of the 
brood, there were more devilish monsters still, so 
gorged with the blood of their human victims that all 
semblance to mankind had disappeared, and they pro- 



52 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

claimed their birth 'by going about seeking whom 
they might devour/ 

"Their one desire in life was blood, and I was re- 
minded of the old command: 'Ye shall not eat the 
blood, for the life is in the blood/ 

"As long as the beast is allowed to subject all 
things unto himself, having already reduced the legis- 
lative and judiciary bodies, the press, the telegraph 
and other organs of the body politic to submission, 
we may expect to see less and less of real life mani- 
fested in our republic. 

"As for the free American people, they have long 
since ceased to exist. We are a nation of slaves and 
the auction block is in Wall street. Truly it is ap- 
propriately called the stock exchange, for there the 
blood of the live stock of the nation is gambled away, 
it being easier to handle the condensed form of life 
than the cattle themselves. 

"Yes, indeed, we are but dumb driven cattle as long 
as we allow such a state of things to continue. My 
year's experience has seemed like an awful nightmare 
and I often wonder if there is no way of arousing the 
nation from its sleep of death. 

"Chattel slavery was accomplished through the Ig- 
norance and weakness of the enslaved ones. Our in- 
dustrial slavery, on the other hand, has been the result 
of free, intelligent Americans despising their birth- 
right and selling it for a mess of pottage. We have 
delegated our responsibilities as citizens to special- 
ists, in order that we might give all our time and 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 53 

thought to the amassing of wealth. Alas! as a nation 
we have lost our wealth, it being in the hands of those 
very specialists, and we have become their slaves! 

"Many are despairing of ever again gaining their 
freedom, so powerful has Plutocracy become, and I 
can see but two ways of escape — either we will recover 
our strength through the beast relaxing his grasp, 
when in a stupor due to over-gluttony, or new life 
must be inserted into the victim. Which, think you, 
will it be?" 

"Wonders will never cease!" exclaimed Hilman. 
"Who would ever imagine that one of the very brood 
so deservedly denounced could see himself as others 
see him?" 

"I can explain that very easily," replied Went- 
worth. "I belonged to the class of beasts that still 
bears a faint resemblance to man, and while there is 
one spark of manhood left there is always hope of a 
change for the better. But time flies. Who comes 
next?" 

"Come, Stafford; w r e expect great light on the sub- 
ject from you. Let's reap the benefit of your knowl- 
edge and experience immediately, for in the good old 
days you were the one who always 'knew it all/ " This 
from the Doctor, who had always been addicted to 
teasing. 

"Well, now I call that pretty mean, raking up old 
ashes," retorted Stafford. "Perhaps you are not 
aware that most men learn, after escaping from the 
abnormal atmosphere of our halls of learning, that 



54 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

they really know nothing? If you haven't come to 
that conclusion Pm ahead of you, though it took me 
a year to reach that point. 

"You'll all be surprised at the realm I chose to in- 
vestigate. When Hilman advised us to choose that in 
which we were the most interested I was decidedly 
puzzled. 

"After thinking over many different spheres of 
life and finding that none of them really interested 
me, I suddenly realized that the only thing that was 
of vital interest to me was — myself! It was a humili- 
ating disclosure, but I determined to be honest and 
spend the year in studying that which appealed to me 
the most. And I'd be willing to wager a good deal 
that if the rest of you were sincere you would have 
seen that the ego is the most interesting subject in the 
universe. 

"But the year is a wasted one. I've succeeded in 
dispelling all my former allusions about myself, and 
no others have appeared to take their place. Just as 
sure as I thought I'd tracked myself to my lair, and 
could proceed to examination, I found that it was but 
a shadow, thrown by some near friend or acquaint- 
ance. After fruitless endeavors at searching out my 
thoughts, feelings and motives, I have come to one of 
two conclusions — either I am so complex a creature, 
so many-sided that only one little glimpse of me is 
possible at one time, making any comprehensive 
knowledge impossible, or else I have no real existence. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 55 

"What I am pleased to call myself is but an im- 
pression from others around me on a sensitive plate. 
In one atmosphere I seem to he one person, and in a 
different environment a totally different person, so 
that what I really am, or am not, is beyond my ken/' 

Elizabeth was about to speak, but became lost in 
thought, and indeed we all felt that we were getting 
beyond our depth. The silence was broken by Went- 
worth, who remarked that the reflection theory 
wouldn't work, for where would all the other people 
get their personalities which make the impressions on 
us? 

Jim recalled the curious examples of men con- 
fined for years in dungeons, losing all consciousness 
of their own personalities, and Elizabeth completed 
the thought by saying: "Then it would seem at least 
that we need others around us in order to be anything 
ourselves. Perhaps/' with a roguish look at me, "we 
will find out some day that those who refuse to exist 
as social beings, as parts of a whole, have no real ex- 
istence." 

"Thanks awfully — too good of you, I'm sure," I 
replied, with a profound obeisance, "but Doc is ready 
to break forth on this most unprofitable subject, so 
let's turn his thoughts into another channel and call 
for his report." 

"Very well; 1*11 be glad to be through with it, for 
it will prove far from pleasing, I'm sure, and you will 
all regret having commissioned me to examine any 
sphere of life. 



56 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

"Fve heard such eulogies on the subject of our 
nineteenth-century civilization that I determined to 
put it to the test. 

"In order to do that it was necessary to study not 
only civilized man, so-called, but his savage brother: 
and so I, for one, have dropped my former occupation 
and have devoted my whole time to the work, travel- 
ing through both civilized and uncivilized countries 
in search of light. Of course it is hardly possible 
now to find a spot unaffected by our modern life; but 
Fve done the best I could and my honest opinion is 
that the savage seems to be far happier than his civ- 
ilized brother. 

"Talk about the benefits of civilization — what are 
they, I wonder? If our attention is not absorbed by 
the things which are the product of a great material- 
istic civilization, and we examine instead the result 
as it is seen in man, we will be obliged to admit that 
he is a much more burdened, careworn, distressed 
animal than his brother in Darkest Africa. 

"Of course the savage has fewer things, but he also 
has fewer wants, and besides all else in a primitive 
state he is free, while civilized man is a slave !" 

"Careful, old boy," interrupted Winter; "don't 
forget to except present company." 

"No, sir, I refuse to do that to-day. For the last 
ten years I've played the polite act and corked myself 
up, keeping my convictions to myself. To-day FU 
be a free man and say what I think. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 57 

"Deny if you can that the negro in his native wilds 
is more free than the time-server in our cities. 

"In a primitive state, before the slave-trader ap- 
pears — who, by the way, is of the civilized portion of 
the world — each man has opportunity to supply his 
simple wants, and time enough to enjoy life to the 
height of his ability. But civilized man turns his 
back on nature, peace, happiness, and builds atrocious 
cities, where the soft earth, green grass and trees, 
fresh air and glorious skies are supplanted by hard 
pavements, stone walls, murky heavens and — slavery. 

"In our modern cities the majority are over- 
whelmed with anxiety for the morrow and have no 
time to enjoy to-day. To look at the faces of the 
mass of people in any city would convince us that 
their lives are but wild endeavors after the unattain- 
able. 

"True, a few are in a position where they can have 
the necessities of life, such as space, air, health, rest 
and recreation, but they are so saturated by the false 
ideals of civilization that they have no real enjoyment 
of life, and the privileged classes (which means, I sup- 
pose, those who are privileged to waste their substance 
in riotous living and oppress the under dog) are 
haunted by the fear of loss of wealth, which loss 
would virtually kill them. 

"I know you will all say that the savage is igno- 
rant, depraved and limited in every way; but I contend 
that, his wants being few, and the power to supply 
them being within his reach, he is far happier than 



58 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

the average modern man, whose wants are ever in- 
creasing, while the growing power of the privileged 
class is rendering it more and more difficult for him 
to supply those wants. 

"Surely the mere accumulation of tilings does not 
minister to our real happiness; neither does our hud- 
dling together in cities where everything is a menace 
to simple natural living. 

"And if you point to our advancement in knowl- 
edge and morals I would ask, what does it amount to, 
if for the majority of men fear is their constant com- 
panion and grinding toil their heritage? 

"The civilized nations to-day are conducting their 
national, state and municipal affairs as if honesty, vir- 
tue and truth were myths. 

"We speak of the Christian nations, but which 
are they, forsooth? Surely not those whose very 
foundation is war — and war to the death! 

"Well has Carlyle hinted at the prevalence of war- 
fare in our modern industrial life: '0 sumptuous 
merchant-prince, illustrious ^ame-preserving duke, is 
there no way of killing thy brother but Cain's rude 
way?' 

"We exalt our system of competition and claim 
that it makes for progress. But let us call it by its 
real name and see how the element of war permeates 
our whole life, social, industrial, political, as well as 
the life of nations. 

"The war between nations has always been more 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 59 

or less apparent, but it is not so easy to see that the 
national warfare exists because of the industrial. 

"We have agreed to conduct everything on the 
principle of profit-making; hence rival firms must 
find a market for cheap goods, made by the cheapest 
labor, and 'as nations under our present system are 
driven to compete with one another for the markets of 
the world, and as firms or captains of industry have 
to scramble for their share of the profits, so also have 
the laborers to compete with each other — for a liveli- 
hood; and it is this constant competition or war 
among them which enables the profit-grinders to 
make their profits, and by means of the wealth so 
acquired to take all the executive power of the coun- 
try into their hands.' 

"We are continually reminded that our laws are 
not made for the protection of man. Property is of 
far greater value in the eyes of modern nations, and 
he who calmly declared that 'men are cheaper than 
shingles' knew that he was but voicing the sentiment 
of the powers that be. 

"Instead of the former creed, 'The black man has 
no rights which the white man is bound to respect/ 
the present one, due to our vaunted profit-making 
system, is 'The wage-earner has no rights which the 
capitalist is bound to respect.' 

"And to-day the money kings are playing the part 
of the robber barons of old with much more disastrous 
effect. They seize the land, the mines, the industries 
and even the press and pulpit, and not only oppress 



60 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

the poor but blind them to their real condition, hold- 
ing out the hope that they, too, may by extra toil and 
frugality reach the point where they can oppress in 
their turn. 

"The revelations of the inner life of the business 
world are appalling — anxiety, doubt, fear and weari- 
some work continued far beyond the strength of the 
physical man, reduce him to a bundle of nerves, capa- 
ble of any course to save himself and family from 
financial wreck. 

"The mental life, bordering as it often does on the 
insane, is at best devoid of wide sympathies or high 
ideals, and where are the qualities in the modern busi- 
ness man which a Christian nation should cultivate 
in her citizens? 

"What have gentleness, meekness, forbearance, 
temperance, faith and love to do with the business life 
of a Christian nation? 

"The fruits of our competitive system are being 
seen on all sides among both rich and poor, for we are 
all tainted by it. Hatred, strife, jealousy, fear, deceit 
and death will reign as long as civilized man keeps to 
his present course. 

"Everywhere you see men and women approach- 
ing either the brute or the machine, bereft of physical, 
mental and moral strength; and, what is far worse, the 
children are born into poverty, amid evil surround- 
ings, which must tend toward a lower type of man. 

"And as for our social life, even without the aid 
of Hilman's test, you have but to listen to the harsh 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 61 

h 

criticisms, the evidences of pride of heart, and note 
the jealousies, to know that it does not add anything 
to man's real happiness or advancement. 

"All of us are filled with a desire to outdo or out- 
shine our neighbors. 

"Tell me, friends, which do you really think rep- 
resents the larger proportion of free men — civiliza- 
tion or savagery? 

"Originally man only suffered from spasmodic and 
individual oppression. Here we submit to an organ- 
ized and continual grinding of the faces of the poor." 

"Doc," drawled Stafford, "I should think you'd 
get a feather or two and some beads and migrate to 
Patagonia; then according to your conclusion you'd 
be steeped in bliss." 

"The trouble is that civilized man cannot go back 
to a primitive state, but I see no light ahead of us. 
The forces of evil are gathering for a terrific battle. 
The whole social fabric is permeated with immorality 
and corruption, based as it is on the competitive prin- 
ciple which results in the death of all the highest and 
noblest qualities in man. Progress indeed! Prog- 
ress toward disintegration and degradation, I'll ad- 
mit." 

"But, Jim, surely you can see other forces at work 
besides the destructive ones? Even the force that 
holds the stars in their places suggests co-operation," 
said Elizabeth. 

"Oh, yes; I grant that the physical world is elo- 
quent with lessons in law and order. 



62 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

"But man thinks to improve on nature and so 
organizes society on destructive principles. It's 
strange that he will deign to run his garden on the 
opposite plan. If he were consistent in his belief that 
the war of good and bad results in the survival of the 
best (which is what is generally meant by the survival 
of the fittest) he would throw his garden seeds into 
the soil and leave all to grow as best they could — 
weeds as well as the useful plants — and receive what- 
ever- harvest was his with a thankful heart. He 
would comfort himself with the thought that 'you 
can't go against nature/ " 

"Go it> old boy/' exclaimed Hilman; "now Eichard . 
is himself again!" as Doc's voice rose to the high 
pitch, always indicative in him of excitement. 

"'Yes, you say 'the fittest survive/ implying that 
none of the rest have any right to cumber the ground. 
But man's heart is wiser than his head and so he 
erects buildings for the care of the blind, deaf and 
dumb, feeble-minded and diseased, and even approves 
of reformatories, missions, social settlements and the ■ 
like. In a word, he aims at the survival of the unfit. 
To one who exalts competition I'd say be consistent, 
burn all these institutions, wipe from the statute 
books the few laws which in any measure restrain 
greed and cunning, let selfishness, covetousness and 
force have full sway, and take what comes — for 'the 
fittest survive/ you know. 

"But we all know very well that the only thing 
that makes life worth living is the infinitesimal 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 63 

amount of co-operation that is at work. For what is 
it in family life that makes it endurable, in both senses 
of the word? Co-operation, of course; for wherever 
competition reigns the family life ceases to exist. And 
the human race is but a large family. Yet we attrib- 
ute our progress to the very principle which is death 
to the individual families. But if our socialistic in- 
stitutions, such as the postoffice and fire departments, 
water works, parks, hospitals, libraries and schools, 
were wiped out of existence what a cry would go up 
from the devotees of competition! 

"If it were not too sad for tears it would be funny 
to see what fools these mortals be. 

"The exasperating part of it is that our present 
predicament is so unnecessary. 

"We allow the state to give away valuable fran- 
chises and lands, to private individuals for private 
profit, and tremble at the idea of the state holding 
them for the benefit of society, which alone makes 
them valuable. 

"We shrink from trying a new experiment in gov- 
ernment and persist instead in our present methods, 
which produce more criminals and slaves than any- 
thing else. 

"Selfishness and ignorance are the only obstacles 
to our emancipation; but how are they to be overcome 
when, if the present tendency continues, the mass of 
men will soon be so crushed by our industrial slavery, 
which degrades and dwarfs both intellect and will, 
that they will have neither the knowledge nor power 



64 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

to free themselves? And as for selfishness, what can 
overcome that arch-enemy of the' race?" 

"Then you do not admit that it has been overcome 
to any degree as yet?" queried Elizabeth. "You 
must surely see that some force is lifting the race to 
higher and higher standards. What was approved of 
among the highest classes once is regarded as a crime 
now. 

"Your pessimistic spirit surprises me, Jim. You 
are virtually saying there is no hope, and that, too, 
right in the face of great progress. You remind me 
of those discouraged people who say whenever an ad- 
vance is proposed along any line: 'It can't be done/ 

"But cheer up, Jim, and believe that it is always 
the impossible that is being don°. 

"After each new step forward the dead wood in 
human forms gets into the cars, that 'never would 
run/ or uses the Atlantic cable, that 'never would 
succeed/ or imbibes a whiff of the Spirit 'which 
doesn't exist/ and yet at the next vision of progress is 
at its old game again of opposing it on the ground of 
the impossible." 

"Well, perhaps I ought to plead guilty of a doubt- 
ing spirit," answered Doc, "but after witnessing the 
reign of selfishness in the heart of the race I see no 
hope for the future. It is an appalling sight to see 
Labor crushed beneath the unbearable load she is 
carrying; for it is the honest workers who produce all 
the wealth in the world, and as a reward they are 
taxed to support the paupers, both rich and poor, who 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 65 

produce nothing, the criminals, the incapacitated and 
the soldiery, who may at any time be employed by the 
rich to kill them if they attempt to rebel. Every 
year that we continue our present system the load be- 
comes heavier and the victim weaker, and where shall 
we look for help ?" 

"I do not wonder you are despondent, Jim/' Don 
replied, "f or with all your study of humanity you have 
failed to apprehend the most important element of 
life." 

"And what is that, pray tell?" 

"Wait! It's not my turn yet. Don't you think 
we should hear from one of the ladies now, Hilman?" 

"Yes, indeed! Louise, suppose you give us the 
results of your observations." 

"I have spent the year," began Louise, "in trying 
to learn of the inner life of the home, for that surely 
must be the secret of much that grieves and puzzles 
us in the larger family of the race. And I do not so 
much wonder now at a criticism of our women, made 
by a foreigner of note, which was to the effect that 'all 
that the American girl wants to do is to live in a 
boarding house and wear spectacles/ which may be 
one way of saying that our strongest desire is to be 
relieved of all home duties and work for our own 
notoriety. 

"To simplify matters I have tried to classify the 
phenomena of home life and include the most no- 
ticeable ones under the four different homes which 
seem to me typical of the majority in our republic. 



66 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

The first is that of a family inhabiting a lordly man- 
sion, furnished in princely style and situated in the 
fashionable part of a great city. The members of 
this household were in what is called independent cir- 
cumstances, though they are really the most depend- 
ent creatures of all the educated classes. Possessing 
money enough to develop themselves along any line 
whatever, they were instead busying themselves at 
cutting a figure, and their mental life, with its petty 
jealousies, low aims and distorted views, was pitiable 
in the extreme. You might have expected that peo- 
ple who were freed from anxiety about their bread 
and butter would turn their attention to some useful 
work, instead of bending all their energies to the ac- 
quisition of tilings and posing for effect. But they 
were instead busy from morn to night doing just what 
Adam and Eve did after choosing to live for pleasure, 
the only difference being that, instead of the original 
fig leaves, they have chosen to hide behind more mod- 
ern coverings, ranging from houses and clothes to man- 
nerisms and second-hand thoughts. But then it is 
so with most of the race, for man is always trying to 
blind God, his brothers and himself to his real condi- 
tion and to that end develops an artificial and com- 
plex civilization. 

"The one thing we are afraid of is that we may be 
seen in our nakedness of thought and purpose, and be- 
cause we know our souls to be puny we hide behind 
artificialities in the shape of habits of dress, thoughts 
and feelings and label the result 'Man/ 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 67 

"The people in this house (I dare not call it a 
home) were dwarfs, though to the eye of society they 
seemed veritable giants. What little real life they 
had was choked with things and smothered almost to 
the point of extinction by the artificial atmosphere 
they breathed. 

"The household goddess was Mrs. Grundv and 
they burned incense faithfully at her shrine. 

"The second home was that of a salaried man. It 
soon revealed itself to me as a battle-ground. 
Thoughts and ambitions of great diversity were con- 
tinually fighting for supremacy — the world contend- 
ing with the faint stirrings toward a higher life. 

"The father, in his efforts to make his family ap- 
pear as well-to-do as richer ones, was fast becoming a 
money-making machine. 

"The mother had been a young woman eager to 
follow the Lord, but, marrying according to the stand- 
ard of the world, and finding her time fully occupi 
with the aims and ambitions of those around her, she 
had finally settled down into her groove of life, com- 
forting herself as best she could with the thought that 
probably God had not intended her to be free to serve 
Him as others did. And yet her better self would not 
die entirely, and so her life was a continual warfare, 
which rendered her a most unhappy member of the 
home. 

"Of course the children were affected by this at- 
mosphere and followed their parents in trying to serve 
God and Mammon. 



68 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 



ar 



'The result was unhealthy bodies, strained 
nerves, a lack of equilibrium, and the natural sequence 
of hasty words, bickerings and strife. 

"It was an unbearable atmosphere and I hurried 
back to my little nest among the hills and breathed 
once more. 

"My next visit took me to a home where the re- 
fined and scholarly instincts of the family led me to 
hope for a delightful visit, and to some extent I was 
not disappointed. 

"The father, being a man of simple tastes, schol- 
arly pursuits and a kindly disposition, helped toward 
the things that make for peace. 

"And the children, born of love, inherited much 
that tended toward higher life. 

"But the poor mother! Yet why should I pity 
her, when she had it in her power to escape from her 
thraldom? She chose instead to follow in the beaten 
track of custom. 'What will they think V was the 
goad with which she urged herself on to fresh efforts 
to accomplish that which society has agreed to call 
proper. As a result they ate the food, wore the clothes 
and did the things which are customary, regardless of 
whether custom was making for righteousness or not. 
Nay, even the devotions of that family were cut after 
the approved style in the 'really best families/ And 
so both by personal influence and by precept the chil- 
dren were taught to feel that an offense against cus- 
tom was more serious to them than an offense against 
God. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 69 

"It. never occurred to the mother that she might 
free herself and children from such slavery and strive 
after higher ideals in life and thought; and she did 
not dream that in worshiping King Custom she was 
forging chains for her children, for she had blinded 
herself to that which the poet sees clearly: 

" 'We are not free; doth Freedom, then, consist 
In musing with our faces toward the Past, 
While petty cares and crawling interests twist 
Their spider-threads about us, which at last 
Grow strong as iron chains, to cramp and bind 
In formal narrowness heart, soul and mind? 
Freedom is re-created year by year 
In hearts wide open on the Godward side.* 

"One more type of home and I am done. This 
one represents by far the greater number of homes in 
America, for the mass of men now live in cities, and 
though in the better sections of our modern centers 
some degree of comfort still exists, the majority of our 
brothers are deprived of the barest necessities for more 
than mere existence — such, for instance, as the light 
of the health-giving sun, space, proper food, sanita- 
tion and clothing, and last, but by no means least, 
ennobling work and sufficient rest. 

"Over a stable in the rear of a tenement I found 
three small rooms, inhabited by a man, his wife and 
three children. 

"Both parents were honest, capable people and 
had received the usual common-school education. 

"They had entered upon their married life in a 
neat, tastily furnished home and with a snug little 
bank account. 



70 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

"But soon sickness came and the enforced idleness 
was followed by difficulty in getting work. 

"The supply of labor is so much greater than the 
demand that the husband's place had been filled by a 
younger and stronger man; and he thenceforth be- 
came a part of the vast army who are obliged to take 
whatever comes to hand. In his anxiety lest his fam- 
ily should suffer he gladly accepted the first oppor- 
tunity that came, even though it put him for the time 
in the ranks of unskilled labor. 

"He was commended by the well-to-do as an ex- 
ample of honesty and modesty; but the result was 
hardly a compensation for the good opinion of such 
people, for he was now unable to devote time to secur- 
ing better work; nor would others aid him in this di- 
rection because of the multitude in even worse condi- 
tion than he. The consequence was that he dropped 
permanently into the class of unskilled laborers, and 
their fortunes went from bad to worse. When I 
found them, years of hard, uninteresting toil, under 
unsanitary conditions, had broken the health and spir- 
its of both parents and they were barely able to keep 
their heads above water, even in those cheap surround- 
ings, where the sights, sounds and smells undermined 
the physical, mental and moral life of the whole 
family. 

"And what, think you, was the predominating 
feeling in that home, underlying all the sweetness of 
an unusually loving family life? Bitter rebellion 
against society, the world and God on the part of the 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 71 

father/ and in the mother's heart a fear of the future 
which saps her strength unceasingly. She has small 
hope, now that the physical strength of both husband 
and wife is broken, that they can ever recover the lost 
ground, and, if they continue to sink, before many 
years they will be in the class of people who are said 
to enjoy filth, crowding and starvation. The grand- 
children of this man and wife will probably be looked 
upon by respectable people — whatever that may mean 
— as the scum of the earth. 

"These, then, are the four types which I found in 
my varied experiences of the year. 

"If you ask me where is my account of the true 
home, where there is no predominating influence in 
favor of self-seeking and mammon worship, and 
where the children are taught by example and precept 
to make no compromise with the spirit of the w^orld, 
I must honestly confess I have not found one such. 
True, I saw many homes where the members thought 
they were serving God with a whole heart; but as long 
as our whole social fabric is based on selfishness that 
is impossible." 

An impressive silence followed the close of Louise's 
report, broken by Stafford, who said, with a woe- 
begone countenance: "Seems to me w r e'd better give 
up the game of life — it certainly isn't worth the 
living." 

"I deny that," protested Winter. "Knowledge is 
one step toward a relief of the present awful condi- 
tions, and the mere fact that many are becoming 



72 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

ashamed of our communal sins is a promise of better 
things to come." 

"Then suppose you give us your report/' said Hil- 
man, "and cheer us up a bit." 

"All right, but the first impression will not be en- 
couraging, for since we last met I've spent my time 
in hell!" 

"I protest," exclaimed Wentworth. "I was there 
myself, in Wall street, and we did not meet!" 

"Nevertheless, I repeat, I've been in hell, whether 
in a lower depth than you it matters not. 

"The circle in which I spent most of my time goes 
by the polite name of Congress; but of all the fiends 
that curse this earth the spirits that haunt those noble 
halls are the most devilish. For what greater evi- 
dence of deviltry can there be than to spend all one's 
time and energy in using the God-given functions of 
government in order to pass laws which will rob the 
masses of their birthright and reduce them to 
serfdom?" 

"But I contend," broke in Wentworth, "that the 
legislators are but the tools of the real fiends who 
reign in Wall street." 

"Well, possibly so; but remember you haven't seen 
the reigning spirit in Congress and may not appreciate 
it as well as I. 

"And right here I want to state that even in those 
shades of darkness there are some brave souls, whose 
object is the service of mankind, and are in Congress 
for the sole purpose of furthering their object by the 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 73 

enactment of just laws in the interests of all the 
people. 

"But what have they found on entering our legis- 
lative halls? Confusion worse confounded, strife, 
chaos and blackness of darkness! 

"Here indeed anarchy has full sway; each is a law 
unto himself, and the devil has them all, tooth and 
nail, not simply the hindmost. For the reigning 
spirit in these historic halls is the arch-fiend, whose 
thought is well expressed in the words, 'Better to 
reign in hell than serve in heaven' — and those whom 
he cannot convert to his satanic standard he leads 
astray and blinds, so that their work amounts to little. 

"The only thing which prevents the prostrate 
bodies of the American people from having the very 
life crushed out of them by the Juggernaut of corrupt 
legislation is the fact that each spirit in these shades 
contends with all the others, hoping in time to reach 
supreme power; so that, although for a time groups 
form and work together, it is only as they find it to 
their individual interests to do so, and of course the 
constituency of the groups is constantly changing. 

"Now it has been said that these imps of darkness 
are not fairly representative of the American people. 
I believe that they are, for the small proportion of men 
who are earnestly trying to serve mankind in Congress 
is to the fiendish bulk as the small, unselfish body of 
men and women in our republic is to the mass of self- 
seekers. For whether a man belong to the privileged 
or oppressed classes, he is well represented here if his 



74 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

desire in this world be to get ahead — peaceably if pos- 
sible (for is not honesty the best policy?), but somehow 
to get ahead of the rest. 

"All who are trying to do the 'gainful thing in- 
stead of the just thing' are of the generation of vipers 
and are consequently in torment. 

"When I first began my testing of the inner life of 
Congress I was confused beyond measure, for such 
wild excitement as prevailed in the minds of men ren- 
dered it difficult for me to analyze them to any degree. 

"But it occurred to me, in a lull of excitement, 
when the fiends had retired to gather their forces for 
the next battle, to glance over our Constitution, which 
these creatures were ostensibly supporting. 

"The preamble held me spellbound for a moment, 
it smacked so of simplicity! 

"Is it possible, thought I, that only a short time ago 
men collectively could be actuated by such motives — 
'to establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, pro- 
mote the general welfare, secure the blessings of liberty 
to ourselves and children'? While cogitating over the 
discrepancy between the avowed purpose of the con- 
stitution and the evident purpose of the warring in- 
dividuals that make up the Congress of the United 
States at present, an imp of darkness whispered in my 
ear: 'Quite ideal, wasn't it? They ought to have 
known it couldn't be done. The mass of men are 
bound to be slaves to some aristocracy, either of blood 
or money.' 

"As he flew away his tail flicked my face, leaving 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 75 

a sting behind it which intensified the pain of the 
query. 'Is man then so base that he cannot keep his 
freedom after having won it at great sacrifice? Was 
the revolution a waste of precious blood?' 

"To avoid the unpleasant train of thought I turned 
once more to the constitution and read: 

" 'No person shall be deprived of life^ lib- 
erty or property ivitliout due process of law/ 

"What fiend, I wonder, was responsible for that 
last phrase? There must have been some good reason 
that led the framers of the constitution to agree to it, 
yet why should law be perverted to such a purpose as 
depriving men of liberty and life? The result is seen, 
in a theoretically free country, to be the control of 
the many by the few in order that they may be a law 
unto themselves. Talk about labor-saving machines! 
Where will you find a more perfect invention than our 
present government for enriching the few at the ex- 
pense of the many by the passing of laws which turn 
the wealth produced by Labor into the pockets of the 
idle plutocrats? Soon my attention was arrested by 
another article: 'Xeither slavery nor involuntary servi- 
tude, except as a punishment for crime shall 

exist within the United States.' 

"How foolish then for thousands of people to en- 
dure the servitude of interminable working hours, for 
which a mere pittance is paid, doing work under con- 
ditions which sap the mental and physical life of the 
laborers! In a glorious republic, founded expressly 
that all may have a fair and equal chance in the pur- 



76 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

suit of happiness, there can be only two conclusions in 
regard to the great mass of men who are engaged in 
unprofitable occupations, for which they receive only 
enough for the most meager animal existence — either 
they are of the criminal class or else they prefer that 
sort of thing. That's it! Fve heard from many well- 
to-do people that the common laborers like that sort 
of thing and are not fitted to enjoy a higher style of 
life. How fortunate for us, the people, who have more 
refined tastes, that 'those people' like that sort of 
thing! — by which we mean, of course, dirt, danger, 
destitution, degradation. 

"True, a larger and larger proportion of our serfs 
are coming to the conclusion that they would rather 
'starve idle than starve busy/ but with the constant 
importations from other countries we still have enough 
slaves to bear the heat and burden of the day. 

"And as for the future complications, what do we, 
the descendants of those 'who fought and bled in free- 
dom's cause/ care what legacy we bequeath to our 
children ? 

"Just at this point my attention was drawn to three 
uncanny shapes which seemed to dominate the assem- 
bly. They each carried bags, in which was stored the 
plunder of the last year. On one was written the 
figures $14,850,000, on the second $24,000,000 and on 
the third the stupendous sum of $71,659,000. It sud- 
denly occurred to me that only the other day I had 
read that these figures represented the profits of the 
coffee, sugar and coal trusts, respectively. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 77 

"Is it any wonder that political freedom counts for 
so little when the kings of the industrial world con- 
trol the laws? 

"But what is that muffled cry and indistinct rus- 
tling that I hear? Peering into the gloom which 
abounds everywhere in these halls (for does not 'every 
one that doeth evil hate the light'?), I discerned 
shadow^y forms surging around these three powers of 
darkness, as well as around their rivals. 

"The forms were not tangible and at times I could 
not apprehend them even with my test; but whenever 
some question of vital importance to the democracy 
was being mangled and strangled they would gather 
in innumerable hosts at the center of the controversy 
and besiege the fiends with cries unspeakable. 

"On becoming somewhat accustomed to the lack of 
light I was able to study more closely the characters 
and purposes of the main actors in these legislative 
halls, and I found that some were there in the interests 
of the railroad kings, some for landlords, some for 
bankers, brokers and so forth, some for oil, sugar, coal, 
coffee and such things, but where was the representa- 
tive who w r as working successfully in the interests of 
man? After nineteen centuries of light, is it possible 
that we still consider things of greater worth than the 
humanity which makes them? Those unhappy souls 
who come to this mammon-worshiping place in the 
hopes of speaking a word for humanity are so beridden 
by hobbies, not to say lobbies, that their work is over- 
come by evil and man is being left to his fate. 



78 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

"A ray of hope came to me as I noticed that the 
framers of our Constitution agreed that 'Congress 

shall make no law abridging the right of the 

people peacefully to assemble and petition the govern- 
ment for a redress of grievances'; and our forefathers 
considered that whatever interfered with life, liberty 
or the pursuit of happiness was a grievance. So they 
state in words which a child may understand: 'When 
any government becomes destructive of these ends, it 
is the right of the people to alter and abolish it end to 
institute a new government, laying its foundations on 
such principles and organizing its powers in such form 
as to them shall seem most likely to affect their safety 
and happiness.' Is it possible that such liberal, 
courageous men have begotten such a timid progeny 
as we, who dare not rebel at this rule of Plutocracy? 

"After staying in this place till my very soul 
seemed contaminated, I set forth to study the source 
of our corrupt legislation, as I knew beyond a doubt 
that those whom I had witnessed moving heaven and 
earth in behalf of moneyed interests must receive their 
instructions from some powerful source. Following 
my cue, I went first to a conclave of manufacturers 
who had met in Chicago to devise ways and means of 
advancing their interests. 

"It was a most proper assembly, the various mem- 
bers being immaculately clothed and carrying them- 
selves with dignity. Even the mental atmosphere 
savored of alert though calm intelligence and clearness 
of ideas. Yet there seemed a disturbing element, 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 79 

which at first puzzled me. While trying to analyze it 
my attention was caught by the speaker, who was say- 
ing: 'One question which will be presented for the con- 
sideration of the manufacturers will be the appoint- 
ment of a new cabinet officer, with the title of Minis- 
ter of Commerce.' 

"So, thought I, these men are planning to have the 
aid of the cabinet, as well as that of the lobby, and my 
thought seemed to be echoed by a great volume of pro- 
testation. 

"Once more I became aware of the phantoms, such 
as had haunted the halls of Congress. As I studied 
these inhuman creatures, impressed with the fact that 
their bodies were emaciated to the last degree, while 
their mouths gaped ravenously, Lincoln's words came 
to mind: 'I hold it true that if the Almighty had cre- 
ated a class of men whom he intended should do all 
the work and none of the eating, he would have made 
them all hands, without anv mouths/ But here in 
the midst of this well-fed gathering were abject crea- 
tures, haggard, gaunt and wild-eyed, whose mouths 
were so wide open that the entire ventral cavity was 
easily seen to be empty, swept though not garnished. 

"I wondered whether these poor creatures were 
able to make their presence felt by the sleek and pros- 
perous men in council assembled. Judging from the 
self-satisfied, complacent atmosphere in the manufac- 
turers' minds, they were unresponsive to the wails of 
the besieging army. 



80 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

"But what is the speaker saying that so excites the 
shadowy ones? 

cc <The time has come when the manufacturers of 
the United States should stand together for the de- 
fense and promotion of their interests/ 

"Wail upon wail burst from the ghosts of Labor as 
they tried to make the prosperous captains of industry 
aware of their need of consideration. Later, when 
another representative of the employing class voiced 
the thought of all in it, saying, 'We want to be the 
Government,' the cries of the real producers of wealth, 
as they protested at class government, rose to such a 
pitch of excitement that I left in haste, unable longer 
to endure the sight of two worlds — the one so calm, so 
complacent, so assured, the other so desperate and 
hopeless! 

"And w T hy should I weary you with any further ac- 
count of the meetings held for the advancement of the 
moneyed interests of our fair country? Everywhere it 
was the same story; men of privileged positions and 
possessions planning for future benefits for themselves 
through special legislation in their favor, everywhere 
besieged by our enormous class of serfs, whose spirits 
are always pleading for a hearing. 

"Of course you all know that the men who take 
part in these councils of war are among our most in- 
fluential church members, and as such, subscribe to 
creeds which exalt a God of justice, mercy and peace. 
Yet, while theoretically worshiping Sacrificial Love, 
in their hearts they believe that for this world at least 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 81 

evil is more powerful than good; and so they continue 
to uphold the evil principle of competition, and on 
Sundays sing hymns in praise of the King of Peace. 
Sprague reveals the inconsistency of the church when 
he says: 'Competition is strife based on self-interest, 
but Christianity says: "Let nothing be done through 
strife." ' 

"Thinking that perhaps these honest men would 
like to end their embarrassment of having to reconcile 
their business methods with their creeds, and at the 
same time escape from the class of men which Christ 
denounced as hypocrites and vipers, I have three sug- 
gestions as to creeds which Fm sure ought to suit 
them. 

"How would this do? We believe that whosoever 
expects to enter business for the good of his weaker 
brother is a fool. Or this: We believe that man is of 
the devil, devilish, and that you can get him to work 
and strive for progress only by appealing to the selfish 
instincts in him, and that good men (if such there be) 
are out of place in this world of competition, which al- 
ways was and always will be the dominion of strife, lust 
and chaos, forever. Amen. 

"Those who prefer the time-honored form, though 
not the original one, might prefer such a wording as 
this: 

"I believe in Selfishness, the king almighty, the 
maker of position, special privilege and ease, the in- 
centive to all work, ambition and progress; and in his 
handmaiden, Money, who makes possible all the pleas- 



82 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

ures of life; and, though a creature of comparative 
youth, is nevertheless the bulwark of society, the re- 
ward of virtue and the chief end of man. 

"We praise thee, we slave for thee, we worship 
thee, Selfishness, our king! 

"Now, friends, the ray of hope which I can give 
you springs from the fact that everywhere I have 
seen evidences that society is coming to self-con- 
sciousness and realizes faintly some of its besetting 
sins. When we cease worshiping our constitution as 
if it had dropped from heaven, instead of being the 
product of fallible intellects stirred to attempt noble 
ends, we will be in a position to do just what our fore- 
fathers did when they boldly struck out for them- 
selves in an attempt to try a new experiment in gov- 
ernment. 

"But if we do not profit by our past experiences 
and see to it that ours shall be an industrial as well 
as political democracy, our last state will be worse 
than our first. 

"I do not resent, as I did while in my former hide- 
bound state, the declaration of one of our prophets 
of justice, that 'our economic system is organized 
social wrong/ and henceforth I can sympathize with 
Lowell and say with him: 

" 'The time is ripe, and rotten ripe for change; 
Then let it come: I have no dead of what 
Is called for by the instincts of mankind, 
Nor think I that God's world will fall apart 
Because we tear a parchment more or less. 
Truth is eternal ' 

"Eeally, you surprise me, Winter; you who used to 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 83 

be so cautious and conservative. How do you ac- 
count for the change?" asked Don. 

"No one could realize the real state of things and 
not dare anything rather than to allow the present 
system to run its course. 

"I firmly believe there are few men base enough 
to side in favor of competition if they could see things 
as they are." 



"All very good," said doubting Jim, "but that's 
a very big 'if.' Come, Hilman, let's hear from Olive. 
Judging from her face she has come to about the same 
conclusion as I have." 

"There you are mistaken, Mr. Cynic! I refuse to 
be classed with the hopeless ones," retorted Olive. 
"No matter what my face says — for it may not be read 
aright by the blind (with a meaning glance at Jim) — 
I am not discouraged, even though much perplexed. 
A year ago I would have classed myself with those who 
have no hope, but I'm thankful to say that life seems 
much more inspiring than it did before I used the 
test. For, though for the most part I have seen the 
self-life enthroned in the hearts of men, there are 
many brave souls whose earnest desire is to bring in 
the reign of peace. 

"It is impossible to do justice to my experiences 
of the last year,, for it is such a personal matter to me, 



84 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

as the various types of women, which I have reduced 
to four, seem to represent me in different stages of my 
existence. 

"No, you tease (to Jim), that is not egotistical, for 
the dreadful growing pains of the last few years have 
helped me to realize that I am not in the class of 
women in which I belonged originally. 

"There are probably other types of women, yet it 
seems as if all could be classed under one of these 
groups. First comes the woman who is selfish to 
the core, no matter how charming she may appear in 
the eyes of the world. Her sole purpose in life is to 
make a comfortable place for herself and then eat, 
drink and be merry. With this object in view she 
uses every possible means to make herself attractive, 
that she may subject all to her sway, and so have her 
pick of the softest nests in which to take her ease. 

"She has no use for any person or thing that will 
not serve her interests. When she marries it is for 
the same reason that her less fortunate sister sells her 
virtue; there is this difference, however, that the out- 
cast, as we call her, is often driven to it by want, while 
she who is approved of by society is actuated by a 
desire for wealth, ease and position. 

"The second type includes all those who are 
thoughtlessly selfish. They are the ones who add to 
the weight of human woe by never realizing their re- 
sponsibility to the world. They take everything as 
it comes, being content with pitying the unfortunates; 
perhaps even wasting a few tears on special cases or 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 85 

doing something for them when not too inconvenient. 
Yet these women never think for themselves and go 
on supporting our false ideals, white all the time it is 
their privilege to fight valiantly for justice and judg- 
ment which would make an unfortunate class impos- 
sible. 

"You all know the third type of woman, for she is 
in every walk of life. She feels the tragedy of life and 
grieves over its sin and suffering; yet because of her 
conservatism, due to prejudice or cowardice, she fal- 
ters and fails when confronted by her responsibilities 
as a member of the social body. So she draws into her 
shell, declaring that home is woman's sphere, over- 
looking the fact that in order to guard and guide her 
children she must do her part toward making the sur- 
roundings of the home — the neighborhood, town, out- 
lying districts and nation — such as will minister to 
the good of her little ones. She throws all such re- 
sponsibility on to man, ignoring the fact that 'God 
made man, male and female/ But we are seeing 
clearer every day that man has not made a great suc- 
cess at his municipal, state and national housekeeping, 
and no wonder! For the woman nature can and 
ought to aid in the solution of public problems, for 
she is a part of the public and ought to bear her share 
of the burden. In order that her children may be 
pure and strong and noble she must do all in her 
power to make the conditions of life such as will make 
it posssible for all children to develop nobly, for evil 
existent anywhere reaches all to some degree, and 



86 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

whether we will it or not, 'none liveth to himself and 
if 'one member suffer all the members suffer' sooner or 
later in our body politic. 

"This third type of woman is not a power for good, 
for, although she grieves over the sad state of things, 
she cares more about being ladylike than the woman 
God meant her to be, and therefore hers is a negative 
influence. 

"But, thank God, these three types do not consti- 
tute the sum of womanhood, for there are many live, 
brave, unselfish women, who, though faulty, are press- 
ing toward the perfect ideal. You find them every- 
where, as educators, social settlement w r orkers, women 
suffragists, temperance workers, dress reformers, and, 
best of all, in the homes. You see, Louise, Pve been 
more fortunate than you, for I've found a few homes 
where the influence is such as to develop the children 
into servants of the race. If there were no such 
homes the nation could not exist. These women, and 
their brothers of like fiber, are the salt of the earth 
and they are the most womanly of women. They 
dare anything except to live for the low ambitions of 
the majority of the race. Of course they make mis- 
takes, but who does not? And so I say that as long 
as such spirits exist we should never despair. This 
study has been my greatest blessing, for it bids me 
hope for the future and has carried me out of myself. 
I used to think men were more interesting than 
women, for I liked their dash and courage, but it was 
because I knew no woman who was really alive. Par- 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 87 

don me, Elizabeth; I am speaking of college days and 
even you were only half -alive then. And the more I 
see of the world the more I am convinced that it takes 
most of us twenty-five years to begin to live. Why 
will mothers persist in treating their children as if 
made of wood, to be carved and fashioned from the 
outside, instead of allowing them to develop in a nat- 
ural atmosphere of love and service? 

"No wonder it took me so long to begin to grow, 
for I was taught to think only of appearances and to 
look out for number one. 

"Friends, when you knew me in college you 
thought me a delightful creature. I could see and 
feel your admiration. But you were deceived by an 
appearance, due to abounding physical life and spirits, 
beneath which was a nonentity. 

"Strange to say, even at that time I felt a lack in 
myself which I mistook for a lack of things or oppor- 
tunities. So I set myself to acquire the position 
where all things would be mine, and you all know 
somewhat of my foolish and thoughtless marriage. 
It was wrong, of course. But in fairness to woman 
let me say that if she were developed naturally and 
taught to realize the solemnity and holiness of mar- 
riage she would not think so lightly of her responsi- 
bilities. 

"When will we appreciate the absolute necessity 
of a pure family life, and educate our children to that 
end? 

"Well, you can easily see that I have belonged in 



88 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

turn to the first three classes of women; and if, as I 
hope and pray, I am emerging from the third, it is all 
due to the friend who rescued me from myself." 

As she spoke she slipped her hand into Elizabeth's, 
and, giving her a quick look, full of love, relapsed into 
reverie as her glance rested on the distant shore. 

What a picture the two women made! The one 
so fair and winsome, with the light of the other world 
in her eyes, yet so sweetly human withal; and the 
other dark and restless, yet with strength and a noble 
purpose speaking in her face, where eleven short years 
ago you would have searched in vain for either. Olive 
ha'd lost much of her youthful beauty, but Elizabeth, 
on the other hand, in spite of sorrows and a busy life, 
had gained in every way, her face appealing to us all 
in its beauty of coloring and expression. I wondered 
at that time over her wonderful personality, which 
suggested life, joy, peace and energy all at once. It 
savored of the rich, full, joyous life of natural things, 
a swiftly flowing river, a strong, fresh breeze, or even 
the joyous morning carol of birds, and we were all 
better men and women for her presence — except, per- 
haps, poor Helen. 

Olive recalled us by saying: "Oh, if I could only 
live my early life over differently! It seems too late to 
do much now, though for the sake of my children, 
who have really been motherlesss most of their lives, 
Pll do my best to be a true woman!" 

We were all conscious of being* in the same cate- 
gory, having wasted much of our lives and opportuni- 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 89 

ties. Talk about the improvident and ignorant not 
making use of theirs! Do any of us, Fd like to 
know? 



After a few moments of thoughtful silence Helen 
broke the spell by saying: 

"Well, Charles, if you have no objections I think 
Fll respectfully withdraw, as there are more impor- 
tant things claiming my time. I really can't see the 
advantage of using your test, for it only shows us 
what any child might learn — that we aren't good for 
much and that life is just a scramble. It was no sur- 
prise to me to find out that we are selfish mortals, for 
I never thought we were angelic, and my only regret 
is that I spent what little time I did in using the test; 
for I need all the time I can command to make my 
way in life so that I can reach a place where Fll be 
safe from harm and can enjoy myself. 

"Despite the edifying sentiments expressed here 
to-day, Fll wager you're each as anxious as I to suc- 
ceed in life. If I had known how pious you were all 
getting I shouldn't have come, for, honestly, I've been 
bored to death. ' My interests are elsewhere, so I'll 
bid you a long farewell." 

She left us with a graceful courtesy and we 
watched in silence as she tripped lightly out of sight, 



90 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

many of us thinking, no doubt, as I did, that there 
was everything in Helen to attract, except a soul. 

Somehow that failed to prove its existence. After 
a somewhat awkward silence, which all hesitated to 
break, Hilman suggested dinner, and we found that 
it was high time, as we had been so interested in the 
reports that the inner man had for once called in vain. 

We selected for the luncheon hour an ideal spot, 
shaded by grand old pines and dainty birches, and, 
after having done what we could in assisting at the 
preliminaries, we men stretched ourselves out under 
the trees, recalling the pranks of our college days, 
while the girls finished the preparations for lunch. 
The ripple of the birch trees had lulled me into that 
delicious state between sleeping and waking, when 
an insect recalled me to the present by promenading 
up and down my neck. After a few vain attempts to 
dislodge him and still remain in the drowsy state, I 
sat bolt upright with vengeance in my eye, only to find 
that the bug was a harmless piece of grass which 
Elizabeth had used to waken me for luncheon. Her 
rippling laugh and merry face sent such a thrill of 
pleasure through me that eating seemed a very hum- 
drum affair and I foolishly exclaimed that it was un- 
necessary amid such delightful surroundings. In a 
second the boys had surrounded me, pinioned my arms 
and fastened me to a tree, declaring that if I had 
become so one-sided as to ignore the wants of the 
physical man I could repent of my sins while watch- 
ing the others eat. It recalled the days of practical 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 91 

jokes and so I quite enjoyed the fun, especially as it 
gave me a better opportunity to study my friends than 
would have been possible otherwise, and I realized 
that I, the former recluse, was developing a genuine 
interest in my mates. 

Olive's face was well worth attention, speaking, 
as it did, of the old life and the new. As for Don's, 
the fire and faith that shone through it were certainly 
inspiring; but more than all the rest one face proved 
to me that my early estimate of her was superficial in 
the extreme. She whom I used to accuse of coldness 
and insincerity was inspiring us all with a warmth 
and purity which was a blessing. I was impatient 
for her report, for surely she would speak the truth 
as she saw it, and her face indicated that her hope 
was strong, despite her knowledge due to the test. 

As I sat there, free to think and watch, I could see 
that each and all were responsive to her presence. 
Why, then, should I feel dissatisfied at the evident 
sympathy between Elizabeth and both Don and Hil- 
man? I, who had never understood her or valued her 
friendship above my professional ambitions, ought 
surely to be willing that others should appreciate her. 
It hurt, nevertheless, and I was glad when, the prac- 
tical joke having been ended by more fun, and our 
period of relaxation being over, we returned to the 
cliff and settled down to hear the remaining reports. 



92 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

I had been greatly impressed with the remarkable 
change in the whole bearing of Grey, who had for- 
merly irritated me beyond measure by his ecclesiasti- 
cal complacency; whereas at our gathering that day 
he appeared like a boat without anchor or ballast, 
battling with unseen powers. 

His face was thin and drawn, his eyes restless and 
his mouth hard and unyielding to the play of the 
lighter emotions. Even when the rest of us were 
chaffing each other he rarely smiled, and so impressed 
us all as a sad, careworn man. Consequently when 
he was called upon by Hilman we were not surprised 
at the general tone of his report, though the subject 
matter was startling, coming, as it did, from one who 
had always been steeped in ecclesiastical belief. Look- 
ing first at Hilman, and then embracing us all in a 
rapid, nervous glance, he exclaimed: "How I wish 
this last year might be wiped out of my life! Hilman, 
what possessed you to make it possible for us to know 
the inner life of man? It has cost me my life, for 
what is left is but a torment! I can see no hope 
ahead, for the sphere I have tested is the only one 
which I had any reason to hope would rescue the 
world from the dominion of Selfishness. But she, 
the Bride of Christ, is permeated with the world- 
spirit and, while professing fidelity to Christ, has been 
whoring after the gods of this world! The astonish- 
ing part is that we have been blind so long to her 
gross infidelity. It is because men honor names in- 
stead of things. She has been called the Bride, and 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 93 

men take it for granted she is still such, when in truth 
she is an adulteress. 

"When she was called the Bride think what a pure 
life she led compared with the present! Christ's 
spirit of loving sacrifice was in her, and 'the multi- 
tude of them that believed were of one heart and one 
soul, and not one of them said that aught of the 
things which he possessed was his own; but they had 
all things in common * * * and great grace was 
upon them all/ and the church was able to speak the 
word of God with boldness. There was no lack of life 
in their meetings, no tedious homilies on religion, nor 
useless repetition of catch phrases, followed by pauses 
suggestive of indifference, vagueness or cowardice, 
for they said, 'We cannot but speak the things we saw 
and heard/ and they could witness gloriously to the 
resurrection power of Christ, for they had felt it. 
Christianity was once a Life — 'the Way/ they called 
it, and it meant much more than agreeing to a creed. 

"That you may not think me imbittered because 
of lack of success in the ministry, and that you may 
understand my present feeling, I will sketch hastily 
my experiences since graduation from the seminary. 
My first charge was in a district where the church 
was in a frightful condition, viewed either from the 
financial or spiritual standpoint. Its past history, 
devoid as it seemed to be of any real life, served only 
to stimulate me to earnest efforts at revival. I was an 
enthusiast and thought that a prayerful, believing 
servant must be blessed in his work. But as I came 



94 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

to know the congregation better I found that there 
was really no church there, in the proper sense of the 
word. There were a few good souls among the 
women, who were 'zealous for God, but not according 
to knowledge/ and as for the male members, when 
searching for men to fill the vacant elderships there 
proved to be absolute!} 7 none among them who were 
morally fit, though some in the congregation might 
have been eligible if they had cared enough to join 
the church. Such was my first charge, made up of 
people who were in the church for what they could 
get out of it both now and hereafter. I worked un- 
ceasingly and failed! 

"The next field was much pleasanter socially, the 
people being of greater education and refinement, but 
it was fully as difficult, viewed from the standpoint 
of Christ. There was everything necessary for good 
work except the spiritual life. The attendance was 
good, the finances in a fair condition and socially the 
people indulged in the usual gatherings, with the 
usual result. But the church attendance represented 
the same people year after year, while in the com- 
munity there existed another class, who were looked 
down upon socially, and so were rarely seen inside the 
walls of the church. 

"Although a few Christ-like members tried to 
change this condition of things, the church as a whole 
ignored it and went on in the approved church way, 
having no vital effect on the community. 

"My next charge was in an active, energetic city 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 95 

church, made up for the most part of people in fairly 
comfortable circumstances. Instead of the inert and 
apathetic condition of the first of my charges, and the 
complacent self-satisfaction of the second, there was 
an atmosphere of good business ability and enterprise. 

"Yet as I look back what did it amount to as an 
aggressive power in the community? Of course there 
were regular meetings, all well attended, and you will 
say that the preached word must have effect. 

"But, though it must have done good in individ- 
ual hearts, the organization did nothing toward prac- 
tical opposition to wickedness in high places. True, 
it held innumerable meetings, which we are accus- 
tomed to call services, but I can see plainly now what 
I only dimly comprehended at the time, that those 
'services' of the church in behalf of the world were 
formal, to say the lea^t. That very church had ex- 
isted for twenty years in that same spot, with what 
result in the neighborhood? There had been a steady 
decline in the character of the vicinitv both as regards 
the material and moral aspect. It was food for 
thought, but I failed to apprehend the secret of the 
trouble, though I knew in my heart of hearts, as all 
honest thinkers have to admit, that the deterioration 
of the neighborhood and the growing desire of the 
church to move to a better locality reflected against 
its own character. 

"Yet all agreed in regarding that church as one of 
the most successful in the city. During my pas- 
torate many were added to the membership and the 



96 THE PlRE CAUSEWAY 

usual activities of a church were maintained with en- 
thusiasm. My so-called success led to a call to an ex- 
tremely wealthy congregation in another city. I had 
become intensely interested in the institutional phase 
of church work and the congregation that had called 
me seemed equally anxious to enter upon very aggres- 
sive work for their neighborhood, which also had 
changed for the worse during the last few years. I 
accepted the call, believing that much good would 
result to the community, as well as to the church and 
its pastor. In time ours was the foremost church in 
the city, being regarded as a model for others through- 
out the country. 

"Yet, though our different departments seemed 
in a thriving condition, I was conscious of some great 
lack in the inner life of the church. Generally speak- 
ing, those who did the most in contributing toward 
our very heavy expenses were completely beyond my 
reach personally. Of course I had a certain acquaint- 
ance with my flock which many regarded as an inti- 
mate one. But as the years went on I was more and 
more conscious of the fact that I really did not know 
the actual men and women at all. There was always 
such a rush of activities, so many interests, such ab- 
sorption in this, that and the other event. 

"Gradually I awoke to the fact that there was 
actually no real communion in the church and I grew 
morbid over the subject of the Lord's Supper. What 
did they mean by 'the communion of the saints'? 
One line of Lowell's pursued me: 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 97 

" 'The Holy Supper is kept, indeed, 

In whatso we share with another's need; 
Not what we give, but what we sliare, 
For the gift without the giver is bare/ 

"I was getting into a curious state of mind. Here 
was the realization of what had been, a few years ago. 
my highest hope. A large, capable membership', a 
generous liberality in point of contributions, even a 
large working force, active in all the various depart- 
ments; yet the question kept pursuing me: What does 
it amount to? What are we aiming at? The church 
was a fine aggregation of individuals, but was it a 
iodyf 

"When my perplexity was at its height you, Hil- 
man, called us together and urged us to use the test. 
At first I feared, actually feared, to know the truth 
about my church, but, realizing finally that such a 
state of feeling was worse than actual knowledge, I 
began my voyage of discovery. 

"Why did you entice us, Hilman? It has been 
the deathblow to my hopes! 

"Individually there are some who truly long to 
serve their fellow-men, and many of these are battling 
heroically against the unknown foe of humanity. 
But in spite of their determined stand against evil 
their work is futile and will always be until their eyes 
are opened to the real condition of tilings. 

"Our consecrated church members are but beat- 
ing the air in their efforts at releasing the captives 
of to-day. They cannot apprehend the source of our 



98 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

trouble, for one and all are led away and enticed by 
our atheistic commercialism. That which menaces 
our religious, social and political life to-day is the 
spirit of gain, and the dangerous class of our nation 
is not the criminal, much less the discontented labor- 
ing clasis, but rather is it the parasitic class which 
lives on the labors of others and exalts a life of ease 
and luxury. The privileged classes have the law on 
their side, it is true, but who made the laws and when 
did lawyers become necessary? We have but to go 
back a few hundred years to find the solution of much 
that puzzles us to-day. The land-grabbing process 
has always had to be bolstered up by a class of hired 
advocates, but woe unto those who call evil good and 
good evil! 

"After a few weeks of study I saw clearly that the 
influence against a life of complete renunciation ema- 
nated from what is called Society and so I determined 
to subject it to the test. 

"The controlling element, though not the working 
part of my church, belonged to the Four Hundred, 
as it has been called, and so I next turned my atten- 
tion to what might be called the money-lending class, 
although in America if a man only does business on a 
large enough scale to avoid manual labor himself, 
and be able to dictate to the laborers, he can secure 
a footing in society. 

"Of course we know perfectly well that there is no 
class on earth that has not some noble people in it, 



THE PUKE CAUSEWAY 99 

but high life, as it is called, seems to me the most 
utterly discouraging of all the grades of life. 

"As I marked the outward show of magnificence, 
the vulgar display of wealth, which is not the result of 
honest toil on the part of the present owners, I heard 
again the arraignment of the devotees of luxury: 
'Ye, ye like cattle have devoured the vineyard; the 
spoil of the destitute is in your houses/ 

"I wondered no longer at the powerlessness of 
these people as regards church work, for their false 
ideals and their lifeless existence render them useless 
cumberers of the ground. The revelation of their in- 
ner life was discouraging indeed! Such a paucity of 
ideas, such a lack of originality, courage, independ- 
ence, purpose, power! 

"The outward surroundings of gorgeous apparel, 
magnificent furnishings, palatial houses, made the 
poverty of the inner life all the more striking. 

"As I passed in and out among them I tried to 
speak to them in love, and open their eyes to their 
real condition; but they would not hear, for material 
things rendered them deaf to such a message. Things 
and stuff enslaved them. Such a lot of stuff! Stuff 
in their houses, filled to the point of vulgarity with 
heavy draperies, knickknacks and pictures; stuff on 
their bodies such as a normal human being would re- 
fuse to carry about; stuff in their minds, ideas picked 
up here and there and everywhere, thrown in heaps 
and rotting! 

"And such a lack of equilibrium in everything, 



100 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

such spasms as attack these poor, destitute creatures! 
Drawn hither and thither by this interest and that — 
many of them good enough as far as they go — there 
is no settled purpose, no sincere belief, no life! 

"It is just a wild, purposeless scramble, year in 
and year out; and in saying that I do not ignore the 
fact that many of these phantoms busy themselves, 
part of the time, in benevolence and various philan- 
thropic schemes. Yet in spite of all they do, the key- 
note of their whole performance is appearance. Good 
impulses, which would inevitably lead to a more sim- 
ple and genuine life, knock at these hearts persist- 
ently, only to be smothered by things! things! things! 

"It's hideous, I tell you, and deadly. 

"As I sat at their feasts and watched the rivalry 
between the different hostesses in their efforts to 
outdo each other I could not but wonder where it 
would end. 

"I had determined to search diligently into all 
phases of my church and I have not stopped short of 
a thorough examination. But it made no difference 
what class I tested, the result was the same. All 
classes are at war; those beneath moving heaven and 
earth to get on top, and that part of society which 
has been inappropriately called high life exerting 
itself to the utmost to maintain its position of ad- 
vantage. 

"But it is not the class war which is the most de- 
pressing, bad as that undoubtedly is. As I looked be- 
neath the smiling self-complacency or the distressed 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 101 

energy that poses in palaces or fights desperately in 
the markets I saw another battlefield where two 
selves were in deadly conflict. Egotism and altru- 
ism, the external and transient self fighting for su- 
premacy against the essential and eternal self. 

"And seemingly the odds are in favor of the nat- 
ural man as against the spiritual. Our very atmos- 
phere, saturated as we are by the commercial spirit, 
resounds with the dying groans of those whose faith, 
hope and vitality are being crushed to death by ma- 
terialism. 

"As I passed to and fro, at feast or funeral, I saw 
beneath the surface, humanity, prostrate, broken 
down, inert. And yet one and all are busy producing 
more and yet more of those very things which dwarf 
our common life. Euskin was not so far wrong when 
he wrote that our two objects in life are: ' Whatever 
we have — to get more; and wherever we are — to go 
somewhere else ' 

"There is no stability, poise or purpose, no slight- 
est sign of unity in the body politic. And, as in a 
human body, when unity is destroyed, special organs 
tyrannize and a general breakdown occurs; so it is 
with our social body. The warfare between the vari- 
ous parts, together with the appearance of a parasitic 
growth, which preys upon and consumes the life, indi- 
cates the need of drastic measures to prevent a total 
collapse. 

"As I studied more closely into all phases of life, 
one fact came out in bold relief in spite of the con- 



102 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

fusion on all sides. There are only two classes of 
men in whom there is any degree of robustness and 
self-respect — those who are self-sacrificing and those 
who work with their hands. This last fact surprised 
me beyond measure, brought up as I had been to con- 
sider brain-workers as the higher type of man, but 
with this clew I pushed on in my explorations and 
found that in proportion as a man withdraws from 
honest, productive toil he becomes in his inner life 
shriveled and stunted and dead. 

"My church, composed as it was for the most part 
of the money-lending class, was impotent in the face 
of the world's- great need. 

"What mattered it if they gave millions to the 
cause of the oppressed, when they didn't give them- 
selves? They did nothing, absolutely nothing, toward 
the real redemption of the world from the darkness 
of self-seeking, for they themselves were abiding in it. 

"I determined to speak face to face with them 
from the pulpit, stating what I had seen and pleading 
with them to unite with me in an honest endeavor to 
cast aside the works of darkness and walk in the light 
of Sacrificial Love. 

"I shall never forget that day!" 

Grey's face, which had been working excitedly all 
through his report, was hidden for the moment by 
his nervous hands, while we all sat in silence waiting 
for him to finish. He was evidently trying to control 
himself and in a moment he resumed his account, 
speaking with suppressed emotion. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 103 

"I told them of the danger which was menacing 
rich and poor alike — the one lying at the point of 
death from suffocation, the other from lack of nutri- 
tion. And as I looked into the souls before me, puny 
and powerless as they seemed, I loved them passion- 
ately; for were they not my brothers, children of a 
common Father, and were we not all guilty of a com- 
mon sin? Surely, surely, I thought, it is only neces- 
sary for them to realize their own condition for a 
genuine repentance to commence in the midst of us. 

"In imagination I already saw a triumphant body 
of men and women, who, having mastered the earthly 
self and all material things, dedicated all they had or 
were to the cause of humanity. 

"But what was it that was transpiring before my 
eyes? There in front rose Cowardice, and by its side 
Suspicion; over there, Anger, Hate, Derision and 
Skepticism, and scattered throughout the assembly 
I saw the hideous visages of Greed! 

"Still one encouragement was left me, for in 
among these inhabitants of hell I discerned here and 
there a child of Faith, and Love arose to stem the 
swelling tide. 

"But why tire you with a description of the scene? 
It was not the first time a religious congregation de- 
nounced the speaker and my ears were not the only 
ones that heard the serpent's hissing commentary, 
'He hath a devil/ 

"Instead of an assembly of the saints, whose robes 
had been dipped in the blood of the Lamb, I saw be- 



104 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

fore me a veritable Vanity Fair masquerading as the 
Elect. 

"The vision of the Valley of Dry Bones came be- 
fore me and I cried out in my distress: 'Turn ye, turn 
ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, house 
of .Israel T 

"Involuntarily I dropped upon my knees and 
prayed the Life-Giver that 'they might know the 
truth and that the truth might make them free.' 
How long I remained in prayer I never knew, but on 
rising I found the place deserted save by the few 
whom I had always known as servants of the race. 

"Of course there was but one ending possible to 
such a state of things — the pillars of the church de- 
manded my resignation, and so the next Sabbath was 
the last. 

"It was impossible to prepare a sermon, so I simply 
read selections from the discourse given by the gen- 
tlest of men to those who live for self while pretend- 
ing to live for others. I was determined that the 
truth should be heard for once and where the New 
Testament phraseology could be turned into modern 
English it was done. 

" 'Woe unto you scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites! 
for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and the platter, 
but within they are full from extortion and excess/ 

"Woe unto you theologians and clergymen, privi- 
leged parasites, hypocrites! for ye support and gloss 
over our murderous commercialism, though ye know 
it to be based on extortion and excess. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 105 

" 'Woe unto you scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites! 
for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left 
undone the weightier matters of the law, judgment, 
mercy and faith/ 

a Woe unto you Bible teachers and preachers, sep- 
aratists of wealth, hypocrites! for ye punctiliously 
proffer gifts and systematically ignore the all-impor- 
tant matters of complete self-sacrifice, justice, mercy 
and faith. 

"'Woe unto you scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites! 
for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which out- 
wardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of 
dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so ye 
outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly 
ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity/ 

"Woe unto you teachers of the Gospel of Love, 
pillars of the church, hypocrites! for ye are like unto 
stately governmental buildings, which outwardly ap- 
pear beautiful, but inwardly are full of bribery, class 
legislation and spoils. Even so outwardly ye appear 
righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of dis- 
simulation and crookedness. 

" 'But woe unto you scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites! 
because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men; 
for ye enter not in yourselves, neither suffer ye them 
that are entering in to enter/ 

"But woe unto you doctors of the God-revealed 
law, religious formalists, hypocrites! because ye shut 
the kingdom of righteousness, joy and peace against 
men; for ye enter not in yourselves, neither is it pos- 



106 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

sible for those who desire to enter the way to appre- 
hend its principles. 

" 'Woe unto you scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites! 
for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, 
and when he is become so ye make him twofold more 
the son of Gehenna than yourselves/ 

"Woe unto you social, civil and religious leader.-, 
hypocrites! for ye bend all your energies to secure con- 
verts, and when they have become so they are twofold 
more the children of confusion than yourselves. 

" The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat; all 
things therefore whatsoever they bid you, these do 
and observe; but do ye not after their works; for they 
say and do not. 9 

"Then I declared to them that I had seen the 
Enemy of Souls, which was certainly loosed for a 
season. 

"I told them that if they could see into the inner 
life of modern commercialism as I had done thev 
would see the Destroyer and his emissaries menacing 
the very existence of the spiritual man by his sor- 
ceries. It is the world-spirit, the liar from the be- 
ginning, which has led men to believe that they can 
^make a profit out of their brothers and at the same 
time make their peace with God. I told my flock 
what I had been led to see during that year's investi- 
gation; that the false prophets are as prominent to- 
day as when they were denounced by Jeremiah for 
saying 'Peace, peace, when there is no peace/ Nor 
can there ever be peace so long as the profit-makers 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY ■ 107 

rule the world. Every nation of the past has devel- 
oped a great, materialistic civilization, essentially 
similar to ours, only to end in darkness. 

"And even when the death-knell was sounding, 
the doomed nation congratulated itself on its pros- 
perity as boastfully as we are doing to-day. 

"The ruling classes of our nation to-day are as 
culpable in the sight of God as they were in the days 
of Micah; nay, even more so, for we each know, deep 
down in our heart of hearts, that no amount of charity 
or religious services is a substitute for justice and a 
religious life. 

"And every child of our common Father, who, 
seeing our national sins of covetousness, greed and 
oppression, and knowing that commercialism is a 
menace to the spiritual man, refrains because of fear 
to cry out against it, is damned! 

"Christ denounced the religious teachers, the 
Bible students and the pillars of the church of his day 
because they upheld by their daily life an industrial 
system which denied the Fatherhood of God and the 
brotherhood of man. 

"If costly charities, elaborate and punctilious 
church worship, conscientious study of the scriptures 
and multitudinous missions could not save the Jews, 
neither will it save us from destruction unless we turn 
from our self-seeking and become converted to God's 
law of self-renunciation. 

"We have come to the point where we profess 
belief in a common Father and persecute, all prophets 



108 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

who preach the gospel of common property. And so 
we cling to our idols which are cursing us and spend 
our days crying unto the Lord to save us in spite of 
ourselves. 

"I have seen enough of the inner life of man to 
know that, though private property has done much 
toward developing man's individuality in the past, 
it has played its part and must give way to other in- 
struments of progress. It has become a tyrant and 
must take the consequences. 

"The mystery to me is how Christians can de- 
nounce the prophets of a new social order as de- 
stroyers, when they must know that our present sys- 
tem threatens the spiritual life of us all and degrades 
millions to an existence lower than that of the beasts. 
What if your philanthropy makes it possible for ten 
or a hundred or a thousand to have bread? 'Man 
cannot live by bread alone/ 

"We pity a maimed creature, be he man or dog, 
and if we could see the multitude of maimed souls 
in both palace and hovel, due to the mangling of our 
great commercial machine, we would throw off its 
tyranny and at least become its masters instead of 
its slaves. 

"We know it for a fact that originally land be- 
longed to the clan or tribe as a whole and that our 
present land laws are based on usurpation and con- 
quest. We know that it was might rather than right 
that instituted our present system of private prop- 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 109 

erty; yet we burn incense to it and consider any effort 
toward the reign of right as the work of the devil. 

"We are all busying ourselves at the childish game 
of robbing Peter to pay Paul. Our daily life is based 
on the theory that to the 'victor belongs the spoils'; 
and then tender-hearted men and women grieve over 
the sorrows of the dispossessed and wonder how God 
can allow such things to go on. I can see now, as never 
before, that if we are not fighting the atheistic, com- 
petitive principle with all our powers we are serving 
it, and are guilty of fratricide. 

"If the strong ought to bear the infirmities of the 
weak we surely have no right to crush them to the 
wall six days out of seven and then try to atone for it 
by giving them a portion of our plunder. 

"But as long as the church depends on blood 
money for its support, it cannot be at one with the 
Spirit of Sacrifice. 

"The pillars of our churches are in themselves a 
condemnation of the church. As long as 'they sac- 
rifice unto their net and burn incense unto their drag 
(because by them their portion is fat, and their meat 
plenteous)/ they will refuse to burn ineense unto the 
altar of a common humanity. 

"The vast majority of men and women are satu- 
rated with the vital belief that 'I am something apart 
from the Demos/ hence the deadly spirit of separat- 
ism leads us to withdraw from the mass, industrially, 
socially, religiously. And to-day men are regarding 



110 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

^/-advancement as something opposed to and sepa- 
rate from the development of Man. 

"We try to corner all the privileges and amass 
wealth, not because man is a hog by nature, but be- 
cause we have taught ourselves to believe that we 
must compete for our lives. 

"But, though the church and the state as institu- 
tions are no more convinced of Christ's political econ- 
omy than formerly, I have seen men and women in 
every church and in all walks of life who are feeling 
their way toward a life of genuine sacrifice. 

"Yet has this not always been the case, and are 
we any nearer to the life of a real brotherhood than of 
yore? I found my church no more willing to yield to 
the law of utmost service than was the temple con- 
gregation of old; and since the day they cast me out I 
have gone everywhere seeking a real communion. 
But Christ is not incarnated in the church, however 
much he may seem to be in individual church mem- 
bers. 

"Nowhere can I find a union of men and women 
in a sacrificial life; and that is but another way of 
saying that I am of all men most miserable. For if 
the church is overcome by the world-spirit where shall 
we look for help?" 

Grey's voice trembled with the intensity of his 
feeling, and Don said, gently: 

"But, old fellow, even though the organization 
you served seems to be futile, there are realities left. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY HI 

Surely the inner life you have seen in rich and poor 
alike argues a better day that is coming." 

"Don^t misunderstand me, Don. I would be the 
last one to undervalue the noble individuals both in 
and out of the church who are struggling bravely 
against evil. But associated effort must be made in 
order to grapple with our present problems, and where 
is there any indication of an adequate association?" 

"Perhaps it is even now coming to light," re- 
sponded Elizabeth. "Men are realizing the impor- 
tance of co-operation as never before, and the real 
church of God seems to be emerging from the reputed 
church, much as we know the earlv Christian bodv 
developed from the Jewish institution." 

Grey looked at Elizabeth inquiringly and was 
about to speak, when Hilman asked: "Is that all of 
your report, Clifford?" 

"In substance, yes, for the details of church life 
avail nothing if the essential brotherhood is lacking. 
What if our seminaries are turning out hundreds of 
ministers each year, or if missions multiply, or our 
contributions increase? If, for our daily affairs, we 
have more faith in the devil of strife, jealousy and 
self-seeking than we have in the Christ-life, we are 
yet in our sins. 

"We love this present age, with its glory of out- 
ward progress, and we are obedient not to the will of 
the Father, the redemptive, loving will, but to the will 
of the world---the will to live. So we see the sad 
spectacle of the Bride of Christ entering into the 



112 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

strife of the world and forsaking the way of holiness. 
Instead of being a common lif e, incarnating the Spirit 
of Love, she has come to look upon herself as a mere 
sign-post, pointing men heavenward, but powerless to 
go herself. 

"We know better than our forefathers ti.at heaven 
is a state; yet we have no living faith that Christ 
can guide us into a state where nothing shall be done 
through strife, where men and women obey the com- 
mand, seven days in the week, 'Let all that ye do be 
done in love/ For such an asssociated life would 
strike at the foundations of our present society. We 
hear again the cry from the privileged Pharisees: 'If 
we let Him alone He will take away our place and 
our nation/ and this is the secret of the bitter opposi- 
tion to a more vital and genuine brotherhood. 

"It means a deathblow at the atheistic practices 
of our commercial profit-making system. God has 
always held the rulers, the leaders of a people, re- 
sponsible for the communal sins, and to-day the re- 
ligious, social ai.d legal rulers might do well to heed 
the awful arraignment of the Jews: 

" 'Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave 
off righteousness in the earth * * * hear, I 
pray you, ye heads of Jacob and rulers of the house 
of Israel; is it not for you to know judgment? Who 
hate the good and love the evil; * * * who eat 
the flesh of my people; * * * therefore it shall 
be night unto ye, that ye shall have no vision/ 

"As I beheld the darkness in the minds of men 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 113 

and saw the confusion of thought, even though many 
love the lovely and strive to reconcile the mammon 
of unrighteousness with holiness, I knew that as a 
people we have no open vision. The cries that arise 
from perplexed and earnest workers are the proof 
that they have no vision. 

" 'How long, Lord, how long?' rises contin- 
ually from those who sorrow with the sorrowing ones, 
and they do not hear the question that the Lord of 
life is asking them, 'How long halt ye between two 
opinions? If Sacrificial Love be Lord of all then 
serve it, but if self-seeking be the god of progress for- 
sake your feeble efforts at sacrifice. Choose ye this 
day whom ye will serve. Ye cannot serve God and 
Mammon/ 

" Another cry in the night rises here and there: 
'No hope! There is no hope!' And what drives me 
to despair is the deafening chorus which I hear every- 
where, both in and out of the church, 'We have no 
king but Caesar!' 

"That is the real confession of faith of all those 
who live for self-aggrandizement and power. 

"Is it any wonder that the earnest servants of man- 
kind get discouraged in their efforts at reforming the 
drunkards, prostitutes, criminals and tyrants, when 
the cause which produces these monstrosities is left 
undisturbed? 

"Unless the church arise to its glorious privilege 
of releasing the captives of our industrial system and 
proclaiming the year of jubilee, she will die. 



114 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 



w 



'Poulticing and doctoring the sores of our body 
politic is mere quackery when we refuse to treat the 
real disease that causes the eruptions. 

"But where shall we look for the real servant of 
the race? 

"The church is supported for the most part by 
the very men who would resent bitterly any drastic 
measures such as self-renunciation demands. 

"Truly my days are spent without hope, and where 
to turn I know not!" 



A silence followed his last words, each feeling, 
no doubt, that words were cheap in the face of such 
emotion. But in a few moments Hilman set the ball 
rolling again by calling upon Florence Booth for her 
report, saying: "Come, Florence, cheer us up and give 
us a word of encouragement. Surely some of us 
must have seen signs of a better time to come!" 

She hesitated for a moment and then said: "I'm 
as sure as any one can be that the genuine love that 
we see everywhere in the hearts of men will result in 
something that will not menace our reverence, faith, 
chastity and self-sacrifice as our present system does. 
But I have not discovered the agent which will insti- 
tute the new order of things. 

"Perhaps some of you do not know that after 
graduation from college I took a thorough course in 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 115 

kindergarten work in order to devote my life to the 
development of childhood. And so I naturally took 
that sphere for my specialty this year, though it led 
me on into the subject of education in general. 

"And though I believed, long before Hilman's 
test came to our aid, that the hope of a nation rests 
on the children of each generation, I never conceived 
the wonderful promise that lies imbedded in a child's 
soul. 

"The atmosphere of the heart of a little child is 
the most appealing thing in the Universe. And I 
know, beyond a doubt, that if all the women of our 
nation could see the inner life of childhood as I have, 
they would unite in an effort to put away from the 
world the things that make the little ones stumble. 

"For some time I devoted myself to the study of 
all classes of children under five years of age, and in es- 
sence they seemed strangely alike, no matter how the 
outward circumstances varied. In the vast majority 
of cases there was an attitude of docility, humility and 
love, and they looked out upon the world with bound- 
less faith. The love and faith of one child, if fully 
comprehended by mankind, would shame us into more 
noble and unselfish living. And think of the vast 
army of little ones depending upon this generation 
for development and guidance! 

"Quite by accident, it would seem, I next exam- 
ined the life of college students of both sexes, and 
what a revelation it was! 

"Not but what there were remnants of the child- 



116 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

like characteristics, but here was an entirely new crop 
of qualities and aspirations. Whence came they, I won- 
dered, and how can they possibly make for virtue and 
progress? The attitude of the inner life had changed 
completely; for, while there were evidences of the ex- 
istence of such qualities as humility, meekness, kind- 
ness, patience and the like, and while love — real un- 
selfish love, I mean — fought desperately for life, some 
force existed in the soul that was evidently dedicated 
to the devilish work of killing the childlike faith and 
tearing love from its vantage ground. 

"Anxious to trace the history of the soul, I turned 
my attention to men and women in middle life and 
old age; and as I looked within I ceased to wonder 
at their outward wrinkles and general appearance of 
anxiety and care. 

"What I saw explained the curious fact, often 
dwelt upon, that mature men and women rarely pre- 
serve the enthusiasm, faith and joy of childhood. 
Barely do you ever hear men and women give way to 
spontaneous and hearty laughter, and no wonder! 
There is an intruder in the soul, a tyrant that has 
usurped the throne formerly occupied by Love, and 
chaos and confusion are the result. 

"And as I studied more and more into the inner 
life of maturity I could even hear the mutterings of 
the slave-driver as it urged its victim on in the way of 
death, 'Ye shall not surely die. You must serve your 
own interests or be driven to the wall. They all do 
it, you see, and so you must, and then, you know, the 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 11? 

more you get the more you can give away/ And so 
each soul that has allowed the tyrant to take control is 
driven hither and thither, striving to harmonize its 
desire to love others with its desire to outstrip them. 
And each one is busy adding his influence to the 
deadly atmosphere of the world, which atmosphere is 
to be breathed in by the next generation. 

"If the homes of the land exerted the influence 
they should, the effect of a materialistic schooling 
would not be quite so disastrous. 

"But in spite of the love in mothers' and chil- 
dren's hearts, the dread influence is at work in the 
homes, and in the majority of cases a child has re- 
ceived the taint of commercialism before he is ten 
years old. He learns all too early to measure things 
by a money valuation and to consider it his main 
business in life to make a success. Naturally all the 
evils of the world take root in his heart, as he comes 
more and more to regard his interests as opposed to 
those of the mass of men. All the childlike qualities 
are slowly crowded out by the growth of enmities, 
jealousies, strife, wrath, divisions and worldly ambi- 
tious. 

"And as for the effect of the average school on 
our little ones, we all know that the result is to make 
each child desire a cheap success rather than a sin- 
cere love of truth. 

"Instead of a true development of the child, our 
modern system of education cultivates in him a de- 



V 



118 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

sire for honor, place and power, and puts a premium 
on seeming rather than on being. 

"If our educational institutions aimed at a real 
education — a real leading-out of all that is in the 
child — would it be possible for thousands of young 
men and women to be graduated from our institutions 
each year, and the same old artificial state of society 
to continue? 

"If home and school would cease their efforts to 
make each child conform to the accepted standards, 
and allow each to develop naturally, we could not find 
any two alike, and children would cease dreading the 
epithet 'queer/ for the stigma would be removed 
from it in human life, as it is in the natural world 
around us. 'What will they think?' is the charm 
which reduces most children to mediocre men and 
women; and until we adults make a determined stand 
in the face of custom the promise of childhood will 
always dwindle into a most prosaic and limited ful- 
fillment. 

"The condition of things is bad enough if we 
look only at the children who have decent surround- 
ings and the comforts of life. But when you study 
into the situation of the countless children, even in 
this fair land, who are born amidst degrading influ- 
ences, without even the proper food, clothing and 
fresh air for physical development, let alone the ne- 
cessities for the mental and moral growth, it gives 
one pause. The fact that, in spite of all the adverse 
circumstances, children here and there do grow into 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 119 

men and women of grand characters, bids me hope in 
spite of everything. But we must be up and doing, 
bending every energy to bring about an environment 
in which a noble development may be possible for 
every child in the nation. To expect much, under 
the present deadening conditions, is as foolish as it 
would be to plant a seed in sterile soil, keep all light 
and warmth from it and then expect a glorious fruit- 
age. 

"While witnessing the heart-hunger of the little 
ones, the gropings after light, and the serious ponder- 
ings over life, I have been filled with a determination 
to rouse all I can in their behalf and come to their 
rescue. But what can be done? I am at my wits' 
end. Is there no one here with a definite message?" 



"Perhaps the former champion of the oppressed 
can throw some light oh the subject; so let me intro- 
duce to you, ladies and gentlemen," said Hilman 
with an impressive wave of the hand, "the well-known 
and admired Don Quixote, whom we feel sure will 
speak to us with his usual convincing power. But, 
by Jove, old boy, you look about ten years younger 
than when we last met! Have you discovered the 
secret of perpetual youth? You put us all to shame. 
Explain it, Don," and Hilman looked more than half 
in earnest, despite the laughter in his eyes. 



120 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

Don returned Hilman' s look, saying quietly, "I 
will do my best to give you my secret," and then con- 
tinued lying, as before, flat on his back, gazing up 
into the blue heavens as if he were lost in the realm 
of fleecy clouds above us. We thus had a fine oppor- 
tunity to note the change spoken of by Hilman. In 
the old days he had been the epitome of nervous 
energy. His face, always earnest, seemed to indicate 
a defensive attitude toward the world in general, and, 
although we had always been conscious of his strong 
personality, and felt a pride in his power, we were 
forever opposing him. It was impossible to refrain 
from it. His very earnestness aroused antagonism 
and it may have been his consciousness of that fact 
that helped to intensify his bitterness toward the 
classes. 

But now, instead of the old fiery haste and the 
careworn, anxious expression, which were so marked 
at our last meeting, a year ago, there was a calmness 
and poise which had never been noticeable before; 
and, more than that, a brightness and hopefulness 
dominated the whole man. Instead of springing to 
his feet, as he would have done formerly when about 
to address us, he merely turned on his side, support- 
ing his head in his hand, and, looking earnestly at 
Hilman, said: "Without knowing it, you gave me the 
secret of perpetual youth, and I can never thank you 
enough for your discovery. It has been my greatest 
blessing!" 

A quiet, sunny smile flitted across his face, fol- 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 121 

lowed by an expression so deeply thoughtful that 
none cared to question him. 

Finally Winter broke the silence by saying: "I 
always thought Don a born orator and now I know it. 
He has discovered the secret of securing attention by 
arousing curiosity. Don't keep us in suspense, Don; 
it's cruelty to the ladies." 

"Well/' said Don, with some embarrassment, "I 
wish now that I had written my experiences all out, 
for then I might have known better how to present 
my conclusions in an intelligible way to you." 

"Listen to the boy!" exclaimed Stafford. "He 
evidently thinks it necessary to talk down to our 
level!" 

"To be perfectly frank, Fm afraid I will v ^t make 
myself clear to all of you; for a year ago to-day I 
could not have understood what I shall try to tell you 
as the result of my experiences. 

"I wish to witness to my faith and it is a difficult 
matter to find the proper words, for I don't want it 
to appear a stereotyped affair. So I beg you will di- 
vest yourselves as far as possible of your various preju- 
dices and hear me to the end. 

"It is needless to tell you what realm I started to 
test, for you well know that all my interests have been 
on the side of Labor. 

"It was burned into my soul as a little child, 
brought up as I was in the haunts of poverty and joy- 
less toil, that there must be a way of escape for 
the masses from their grinding, blinding, unending 



122 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

travail, and my greatest ambition was to fit myself so 
that I might do my part toward delivering my broth- 
ers and sisters from their intolerable bondage. 

"Yet even in youth I was filled with fear rather 
than hope, and as the years went on and the outlook 
became less and less promising, I began to lose heart 
and had almost yielded to the temptation to live sim- 
ply for my own advancement, and leave the down- 
trodden mass to its fate. But Hilman saved me from 
my baser self. When he told us of his strange dis- 
covery I felt convinced that it would do wonders for 
my cause, for knowledge certainly is power. 

"But I little knew what wonders it would do 
for me. 

"At first my investigations only added to my load 
of anxiety and bewilderment. But a courageous 
friend showed me that in regarding the industrial 
problem in a narrow light I was standing in my own 
way, for my prejudices were hindering me from a 
comprehensive view of things. 

"In time I came to see that in order to understand 
life we must be generals as well as specialists. So for 
awhile I gave up the study of one aspect of life and 
tried to view it as a whole. I viewed it from as many 
standpoints as possible, trying to put myself in an- 
other's place, the test being a wonderful help, reveal- 
ing as it did the real man instead of his outside. 

"In my attempts to know not simply individual 
men, but man, I studied as many individual types as 
possible, and also tested the same man under varying 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 123 

circumstances. The revelations that came to me in 
this way were simply astonishing. 

"A man who has nourishing food, pleasant sur- 
roundings and a bright outlook is a totally different 
creature from the same man devoid of the necessities 
of life and bereft of hope. People talk as if they 
knew it for a fact, but to appreciate it fully one must 
actually see the inner transformation as I have, many 
times during this last year. 

"It is a frightful thing to see faith and hope give 
way to despair, pregnant as it often is with the most 
desperate purposes. And yet adversity is often a 
positive blessing. My greatest surprise in my ex- 
amination of the inner man was to find what might 
be called a material and a spiritual self, such as you 
referred to, Clifford. I had actually denied the ex- 
istence of spiritual life, previous to this year, and here 
it met me face to face. And it is the existence of 
these two selves, with their consequent warfare, which 
makes the real struggle for existence so grand — the 
spiritual struggle I mean, of course — away from the 
things of time and sense — out toward the realities of 
life. And sometimes when men have been absorbed 
in the pursuit of worldly ambitions it is a positive 
blessing to have all hindrances to real life, such as 
material possesssions and hopes, swept away. 

"But long-continued poverty is quite another thing, 
and any one who realizes its effect on the souls of men 
will dedicate all his powers to liberating the race from 
such a curse. Impertinent as the question may seem, 



124 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

I would like to ask if any of you have ever known 
what it is to be either hungry or cold for days at a 
time. JSTo; of course not, and while I have had some 
experience along that line, it is as nothing compared 
to what thousands endure for months and even years. 
And when I stop to consider the weakening effect, 
both mentally and physically, of hunger, cold and 
fatigue, I am lost in wonder that the ever-increasing 
army of the dispossessed, who struggle on from year 
to year without the barest necessities of real life, do 
not rise in desperation and overthrow the present order 
in another gigantic revolution of blood. 

"It would be well for our ruling classes to learn a 
lesson from the past, for neither a tyrannical monarch 
nor class can oppress the people beyond a certain 
point. 

"Part of this year I made Chicago my headquarters 
and during the strike of the garment-makers I lived 
in the region of the sweatshops, that I might identify 
myself with the strikers and learn to know them. 

"Such scenes as I witnessed in that locality! Such 
crowded, ill-ventilated rookeries as answer for homes, 
such meager and adulterated food as they live upon, 
and such interminable hours of work! As I looked 
into their sunken eyes and noted the stunted physical 
life, due to their miserable wages, I wondered over and 
over why they ever took the trouble to strike. Why 
not give up the struggle and die? But the love of 
life is strong, even in half-starved and stunted men 
and women, and ambitions for their children, if not 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 125 

for themselves, lead them to do just what you or I 
would do under the circumstances. 

"And yet how many people in the upper classes 
do you ever hear espousing their cause? 

"We pride ourselves on the strike our revolution- 
ary fathers undertook when the oppressive conditions 
were as nothing compared to those of modern strikers. 
Ah, but they were our ancestors, whereas these creat- 
ures are foreigners. It's the old story, you see. We 
can't realize that we are all brothers. Church people 
are never tired of exalting the great strike in Egypt, 
led by the hero Moses, but that bears no relation to our 
vested interests, or we think it doesn't, which amounts 
to the same thing in our eyes. Of course the degraded 
Hebrew slaves in Egypt were justified in refusing to 
endure the industrial oppression of those in power, 
because — well, perhaps you'd say God ordained their 
deliverance. Some day we, of the classes in power, 
may learn the lesson that God ordains the deliverance 
of our industrial slaves. But until that conviction 
takes hold of the majority of men you will see thou- 
sands in every large city stunted, limited in every way, 
and depraved. Yet, in spite of their coarseness and 
immorality, lying, as it does, at the door of those who 
have produced this great mass of slaves, I found that 
in the majority, even among the most oppressed, the 
inner life was in essence the same as that of the privi- 
leged classes. Ignorant, uncouth, limited though 
they be, I am more often stirred to better living by 
witnessing their inner life than by studying into that 



126 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

of the upper classes. There is a greater sense of hu- 
manity in them — more of an at-one-ness with man- 
kind — than in the industrially elect. And the sterling 
qualities shine forth grandly against the background 
of vice and degradation. 

"Yet what is the attitude of those in better circum- 
stances toward such as these? For the most part dis- 
dain, or at best a condescension which prompts them 
to throw a sop to the sufferers in the form of some 
charity. How few people realize that if we had justice, 
charity would be thrown out of work! The classes 
to-day are still of the comfortable conviction that such 
people 'should be content in the position in which 
Providence has placed them'; though there is a grow- 
ing suspicion that man's greed may have had some- 
thing to do with their present position. But the 
twinges of conscience are easily silenced by the ques- 
tion: 'How can we do anything more than we are 
doing?' 

"In one of my rambles I ran across a building in 
one of the poorer parts of the city which attracted my 
attention because of the name on its front, 'Common- ' 
wealth/ It sounded inviting, and while wondering 
whether I should investigate it, a peal of laughter 
came from the basement. I sprang to the window 
and was confronted by a novel scene. The room was 
plain and unattractive, except from its air of welcome, 
produced by a gathering of wide-awake men of varying 
types. There were neatly dressed men and those of 
rougher appearance, some even verging on the 'tough/ 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 127 

Many were minus collars and some even were of for- 
bidding aspect, yet all seemed equally at home. I 
could not for the life of me tell whether there was 
any one presiding or not. 

"A thick-set, rather domineering man had the 
ffoor, and frequent applause proved that he was at least 
entertaining his audience. Eealizing the freemasonry 
of the place, I entered and was seated just in time to 
hear the speaker say: 'I must say I don't care much 
for parsons myself, but there is a kind that I believe 

in, and that's the Maurice, Kingsley and G T 

kind!' 

"Whereat the whole assembly dittoed his remark 
by cheers, applause and mighty stampings. Only one 
man in the gathering failed to join in the general ex- 
pression of enthusiasm, seemingly quite overcome by 
the unexpected demonstration. I learned afterward 
that he it w^as who had been classed with the great 
English servants of mankind. He is a minister of the 
gospel in a truer sense than many another of the cloth. 

"Although he is a professor in a theological semi- 
nary, he makes his home in this poor section of the 
city and gives of his time and strength to the people 
of the neighborhood. He is pouring out his life in a 
very practical way for those who need him and is at 
the same time learning much in regard to the actual 
problems of life. The men recognize the unfeigned 
love of this man, and so he is able to help them in 
many ways impossible to the typical clergyman. 

"This place is a rendezvous for all men who desire 



128 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

to discuss the problems of the day, and here they come, 
week after week, with no other attraction than the 
privilege of free speech. 

"If such a place had not been in existence these 
same men would have gathered in the saloons, for the 
same reason, following out their God-given instincts 
for social life. 

"Some day the church may awaken to the fact 
that she has been blind to many such responsibilities." 

"But, Don," said Louise, "you surely must admit 
that most all of the noble efforts toward bringing 
about a better state of things have originated in men 
who were first inspired to holy living by the church ?" 

"Probably; but even so they had to go outside the 
church to engage in their chosen work. If the church 
had been alive to her mission, such work as social set- 
tlements, kindergartens, Y. M. C. A.\s, charity or- 
ganizations and the like would not have been needed. 
The mere fact of their existence reflects against her. 

"This evening of which I am speaking, the topic 
for debate was the attitude of the church toward labor; 
and I was amazed at the bitterness in the hearts 
around me against the church. Yet their attitude to 
the Savior of men was at least kindly and in many 
hearts I could see the life of the Spirit. Their bit- 
terness must have a cause, explain it how you will, 
and many showed their sensitiveness to the discrep- 
ancy existing between the ideals of the Savior and 
those of his professed followers. How to reconcile 
such statements as these, made by professing Chris- 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 129 

tians, nay even pastors, at the time of the Pullman 
strike, 'They deserve to be penned and shot/ and 
'Fifty cents and his dinner is enough for the laboring 
man to earn a day/ with the Savior's command, 'All 
things whatsoever you would that men should do 
unto you, even so do ye also unto them; for this is 
the law and the prophets/ is indeecl a puzzle. 

"The men in this place are allowed perfect free- 
dom in discussion, and they, in turn, listen willingly 
to the honest declaration of faith from their clergy- 
man friend. So all sides have a hearing and they 
all meet as brothers. I went away from that meet- 
ing buoyed up with a new hope. Here, at last, was 
an indication of true brotherliness, and might it not 
spread so that all classes would unite in an effort 
to solve the labor problem? I asked myself. At any 
rate, the Commonwealth did much to remove some of 
my prejudices. 

"You all know my former bitter opposition to the 
church, made up, as it had always seemed to me, of 
those who preach peace and live war. But this 
glimpse of a sacrificial life of a member of the institu- 
tion I had hated made me feci that I had been unfair. 

"In order, therefore, to study our industrial prob- 
lems from the standpoint of the church I identified 
myself with what seemed to be a very successful one. 
But my experience was the same as yours, Grey. There 
is no unity in the institution. It is merely an aggre- 
gation of individuals. The more I studied the inner 
life of church members the more I realized that in 



130 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

the face of our modern problems the church is power- 
less. The root of the trouble is in the sphere of our 
concepts and ideals of life. We want to be separated 
from the proletariats, separated so far that their woes 
may not affect our comforts, and, instead of being 
afflicted because of their sins, we repudiate that prin- 
ciple by hardening our hearts toward the confirmed 
beggar or criminal. If the Eedeemer had waited un- 
til we were worthy of his love and sacrifice where 
would we have been to-day? We need never expect 
a genuine fellowship to exist among men until we rid 
ourselves of the conception that we are in need of 
more blessings than the most degraded. Everywhere 
I saw men hoarding their wealth — wealth of thought, 
of various abilities, as well as material wealth — re- 
garding the mass of men as existing for their benefit. 
It is the old Grecian theory that slaves are a necessity 
to culture and advancement. But till men learn 
that property is ours only as we use it, no matter how 
many laws are passed by those in power to substan- 
tiate our claim, we will go on hoarding and dwarfing 
ourselves as well as those from whom we have stolen 
the property. 

"For it makes no difference whether it be the land 
which God gave for the use of all, or whether we 
hoard our culture and intellectual riches, the price 
of our advantage has been our brother's enslavement. 
That which fosters special privilege, ease and separa- 
tion must be done away with ere an actual brother- 
hood can be realized. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 131 

"The idea of co-operation must penetrate all 
classes, but there must be a spiritual leadership before 
our present slavery is abolished. 

"Association in a common ideal is needed, and I 
turned from the church to seek some signs of it 
among the Salvationists. I had always felt a greater 
respect for them than for the organized church, in 
spite of some methods which are questionable. There 
was certainly a nearer approach to co-operation, but 
as I tested the inner life of the workers their limited 
views of life disheartened me. They had no clear idea 
of the real enemy which is causing the death of mil- 
lions, and so once more I witnessed the poulticing 
process, in lieu of an intelligent fight against the 
Destroyer. The church and the Salvation Army are 
both busying themselves in rescuing a few victims, 
instead of dealing a deathblow at the cause of our 
present evil age. 

"But it was while mingling with these earnest men 
and women that I saw that which gives me faith and 
hope in the final outcome of our present struggle. 
Often I witnessed the great miracle — the resurrection 
of the soul from death to life, and henceforth I know 
that the earthly existence in men and in society must 
in time yield to the higher one of the Spirit. To see 
a creature, dead to all that is pure and holy, bound 
hand and foot to soul-destroying habits — to see such 
a creature, I say, rise into newness of life, is to believe 
intensely in a life higher than our own. 



132 . THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

"And faith in this redeeming, purifying Spirit is 
the secret of perpetual youth. 

"Your test, Hilman, gave me this faith, and I 
thank you from the depths of my heart. 

"I was so prejudiced against religious forms that I 
denied the truth which had brought these forms into 
existence. 

"Man is his own worst enamy. If he would only 
free himself from his prejudices and look the whole 
of life squarely in the face he would have to believe 
in the spiritual life that throbs through the Universe. 

"Since the revelations due to your test, Hilman, I 
have felt a joy which nothing in the material world 
can give or take away. Every day is a revelation of 
life and the end is not yet!" 

He had risen as of old and was pacing back and 
forth, inhaling deep breaths and looking the per- 
sonification of strength and joy. 

Jim, who had been somewhat restless all through 
the latter part of Don's report, said, anxiously: 

"You surely haven't given up your faith in Social- 
ism, have you? That would be to turn from the light 
that is breaking on our benighted civilization/' 

"Say, rather, I have discovered the secret of 
strength in the social movement, for I have seen the 
socializing spirit baptize a man living for self and 
transform him into a whole-hearted servant of man- 
kind. It is just because our present atheistic com- 
mercial system blasphemes the spirit of Love that it 
is doomed. The satanic aims of competition must be 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 133 

overcome by the unfeigned love of humanity or our 
civilization will go out in darkness. 

"It has been well said, long before competition 
had produced our present chaos: 'There must be a new 
world if there is to be any world at all/ The next 
order of society is already at our doors, whether its 
earthly name be Sociality or Christianity it does not 
matter. When we realize that a man can serve him- 
self truly only as he serves the race to the utmost of 
his powers, we will then be ready to enter into the 
meaning and realization of the principles enunciated 
by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. Christianity 
is not the individualistic affair men have imagined it, 
but a social life, founded on justice and love/' 

"Well, it's cruel to throw cold water, I know," 
responded Stafford, "but I don't believe we can ever 
have justice among men. You'd have to change 
human nature." 

"What perfect twaddle, Stafford! Any unbiased 
student must see that from the dawn of history there 
has been a force in the world working continually 
for no other reason than to change human nature. 

"Man has already developed wonderfully and will 
make even greater strides toward the goal of a per- 
fected humanity in the next century. 'Xot to change 
is to die/ We see evolution at work in nature, and 
also in society — first the simple form of the tribe or 
clan, then the feudal system, and lastly the present 
commercial form. Of course the unthinking men in 
each stage of society regarded theirs as the final form, 



134 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

just as the mass of men to-day regard our present sys- 
tem as permanent and ordained of God. 

"It certainly was ordained of the Father, just as 
truly as is the husk of a seed; but if the husk, which 
serves a purpose by protecting the life within, imag- 
ines itself as the end of creation, refusing to give 
way to the swelling life of the seed, it kills both 
itself and the principle within. The husk of com- 
mercialism must die, as all the other husks have done 
before it, in order that the swelling life within may 
burst forth into new forms. They in turn will die, 
that the imprisoned life may pass on and on. 

"Death and resurrection mean more than we are 
accustomed to think; and Christ claimed that his life- 
principle would change the whole aspect of creation. 
It is this principle, existing from the foundation of 
the world, which has wrought all the changes so far 
and will perfect that which it has undertaken. 

"In the individual life we know that 'if any man 
is in Christ he is a new creature/ and if he isn't a new 
creature — if he doesn't strive to order his whole life 
by a principle directly opposed to the world-principle 
— he isn't in Christ, That's plain enough for a child 
to understand. 

"Society has never yet been converted to the Christ 
principle of utmost service, but it has been growing 
toward it ever since the foundation of the world. 

"We are overwhelmed by the revelations of Hil- 
man's test and some are plainly discouraged by it; but 
how any one who believes in the divine life working 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 135 

continually upon and through the human can suc- 
cumb to despair I cannot imagine. Tt? Spirit of Love 
has declared that 'He shall not fail nor be discouraged 
till he have set judgment in the earth/ 

"The chaos and confusion of the present is due to 
the fact that we are living in a transition period and 
the old interests are fighting desperately with the new 
ideals. 

"The ideal of a practical and genuine brotherhood 
has been conceived by the Spirit of Love brooding 
over society, and ere long a new birth will take place. 
The particular form which will embody this new life 
is unknown as yet, but form it will have, as surely as 
the life imbedded in the seed reveals itself in the 
dainty fern or noble oak. 

"The present crisis is a most impressive one. for 
nowhere in history do we find a ca~:e where a nation 
having reached our present stage yielded itself to the 
call from above and entered into the higher life pos- 
sible to it. One after another the nations have passed 
through substantially the same phases as our present 
civilization, only to end in darkness. 



"But although spasmodically and at long inter- 
vals the life-saving principle of co-operation has 
manifested itself in temporary forms, never before has 
the conviction of a social responsibility so permeated 



136 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

society. And I believe most firmly that we will live 
to see a transformation of our national life." 

"That is a faith worth living f or, even dying for," 
exclaimed Hilman, "and I can add my testimony to 
such a confession. My year of study has given me 
your faith, Don, and henceforth I shall devote my life 
to the bringing in of a better day. The only real 
obstacle to progress is man himself, but it is a big one 
and one which even God cannot hurriedly overcome. 

"Gradually we are realizing that, in a sense, crea-. 
tion is not finished, and, whether we look at the nat- 
ural or political world, we see that the method is one 
of development. 

"When we can get far enough outside of ourselves 
to view our own obstinacy and bigotry, to say nothing 
of the blindness and stupidity of the world as a whole, 
we will get some dim conception of the patience and 
long-suffering of God. 

"He has spoken to us in every conceivable way, 
even writing 'sermons in stones and books in running 
brooks/ trying to get us to see the law of life. Yet 
we persist in saying over and over the A, B, C's 
learned in the childhood of the race and refuse to pass 
on to higher truths, which must be learned ere God's 
purpose toward us can be accomplished. Generations 
ago fearless thinkers and seers, reading the book of 
Nature, declared that self-preservation was its first 
law, and, although mankind rewarded these prophets 
with stones, it hats since that time ordered society on 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 137 

that principle, and stoned all those who would not 
swear by the dictum of the martyrs. 

"Since their day, however, other seers have arisen 
with deeper insight into Nature and they proclaim 
the good news that competition is not the funda- 
mental principle of the universe, but is instead only a 
transient phase, serving creation for a season, and no 
more permanent in the natural world than in the 
spiritual. But of course these prophets of renuncia- 
tion and co-operation can no more escape the stoning 
process than those earlier servants of the race. And 
even yet the majority of men cling to the notion that 
strife and self-seeking is a part of a divinely ordered 
plan, even though prophets and martyrs declare com- 
petition to be the disintegrating force of the material 
universe. 

"The one thing the race will not permit is inde- 
pendent, courageous thought; and who dares cry out 
against the traditions of the elders is threatened with 
all the terrors of the Most Holy Inquisition up to date. 

"Man is swearing lustily by commercialism, just 
as he was a few centuries ago by feudalism, or earlier 
still by the tribal life, yet it has now become an absurd 
machine for producing nothing but waste — a fright- 
ful waste of physical life, to say nothing of the mental 
and moral. 

"Competition served a grand purpose in teaching 
the world the worth of an individual, but it has out- 
lived its usefulness and is at present denying its ear- 
lier confession of faith. Men point proudly to our 



138 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

material progress and sing the praises of our social 
machine, ignoring the fact that never before since 
feudalism gave way to free competition in business 
has the world presented such a spectacle of slavery as 
it does to-day. 

"Starting out as political equals, the strong have 
enslaved the weak, and to-day the rights of the indi- 
vidual have been denied. 

"As we gaze upon the stupendous waste of human 
life in every large city, waste of talents which never 
develop, and waste of even life itself, it is as unrea- 
sonable for us to put the responsibility upon God as 
it would be to blame him with the pall of smoke that 
hangs over our cities. 

"They each lie at the door of our materialistic 
civilization, which fosters greed and practical atheism. 
Society is responsible for its own disease, which has 
its roots in the sin of self-seeking, and, like the prodi- 
gal, it must cease wasting its substance in riotous liv- 
ing and return to the control of the Father. 

"If the waste I have spoken of concerned only our 
slaves we might continue to support our profit-making 
system on the plea that the many must suffer for 
the advancement of the few. But how many in our 
nation to-day, even among the well-to-do, can claim 
to have developed themselves as they could and would 
if the demands of business would allow it? 

"Christians believe that they are held accountable 
for the use of their talents, not for the advancement 
of self, but for the advancement of a kingdom of 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 139 

righteousness. So then, if they see that our present 
crude system hampers us, our children and the entire 
human family, is it not time for them to awake to 
righteousness and cease their communal sins? 

"Whether we belong to the oppressed or to the 
oppressors, we know ourselves to be puny, powerless 
creatures compared to our possibilities. 

"Everywhere I have heard the cry from the heart 
of man: 'Oh, if I could only be free to serve the world 
better! If I could only live close to Nature and de- 
velop my talents instead of grinding away at money- 
making P 

"The old political economy, appropriately called 
4 pig political economy/ which has supported our pres- 
ent commercialism on the atheistic theory that man 
is essentially selfish, will have to give way to a new 
economy which will truly economize the powers of 
man and develop them in an atmosphere of love. 

"The prophets who have apprehended the truth 
that the sacrificial law is the foundation of all life, 
political and social as well as natural, are the heralds 
of a new order of society. 

"And I believe with you, Don, that some new 
form will soon embody the social ideal which is even 
now coming to light. 

"But we must give up our old practice of getting 
ready to live hereafter and begin right here and now 
to live the common life. We must wind up our own 
individual business affairs, cease competing with our 
own flesh and blood, and in place of such absurd am- 



140 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

bitions we must be about our Father's business — that 
of the perfection of the race. There can be no such 
thing as 'private business' in God's universe. 

"We are each of us social beings and we have a 
social responsibility which is not discharged when we 
have appeared at the polls to vote for vested interests. 

"And it seems to me that those of us who feel this 
must co-operate somehow in order to overcome the 
practices of greed. The next step in the grand evo- 
lution is the only thing that puzzles me. Perhaps 
your report will throw some light on this point, 
Elizabeth?" 



With a bright, winsome smile she responded: 
"What a strange thing life is! The more I have 
studied into the history of the race the more it seems 
to resemble the history of a single child. It takes both 
a long time to shake off the tyranny of the outer 
world. Pardon me for referring for a moment to one 
child's experience, in order to show what I mean. 

"Like most children, emotion played an important 
part in my early life, and the consequent extremes of 
feeling were very trying. At times life seemed a per- 
fect joy, and again I hated it and everybody, myself 
included. At first I blamed my environment, think- 
ing as all children, and races too, that it was the life 
outside of myself that made or unmade me. Grad- 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 141 

ually, however, I became dimly conscious that I was 
quite a factor in these changes from joyousness to 
hatefulness, and slowly I began to realize that real 
happiness depends on whether we are in. harmony 
with our real though unseen environment, God. 

"Many a night, in my early teens, I lay awake 
pondering over the contrast between the persistent 
laying up of treasures on earth, practiced by church 
members, and the Savior's command, 'Lay not up for 
yourselves treasures upon earth/ 

"After a few years of restlessness, I decided to take 
Christ at his word, and, in the simple faith of a little 
child, bend all my energies toward seeking the estab- 
lishment of his kingdom on earth, and take no 
thought as to my own welfare in the world. 

"But to my great surprise my plan was opposed 
by all my relatives and friends, and, more astonishing 
than all, my pastor and teachers urged me not to be 
fanatical and to 'avoid doing anything extreme/ ex- 
plaining away Christ's commands in the Sermon on 
the Mount till they were robbed of all their power. 

"How well I can appreciate now a thought ex- 
pressed by one of our greatest seers: 'Neither can we 
depend upon our nearest friends to decide for us what 
we shall do with Christ. The best of them will un- 
knowingly advise his crucifixion when they see the 
crucifixion of self to be the alternative.' 

"The average Christian is powerless, because, while 
professing to be free in Christ, he persists in sub- 
jecting himself 'to the weak and beggarly rudiments' 



142 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

of the world. I was no exception to the vast majority 
in the churches, for I settled down into the joyless, 
powerless life of trying to serve God and mammon. 

"In college I mourned over my lack of power, for 
underneath all I earnestly desired to aid others in 
learning the truth, which, like most, I did not believe 
could actually be practiced. 

"When you called me to account, Frank, on the 
score of being a sham, it was nearer the truth than we 
either of us suspected, for by that time I had suc- 
ceeded in deceiving myself as to the utter impossi- 
bility of having at one and the same time the mind 
of flesh and the mind of the spirit, and so I resented 
your thrust, which you must admit was made in the 
dark. 

"The first few years after graduation were filled 
with home duties and joys. It was also in this period 
that my greatest sorrows came, for my dear ones were 
taken from me, after a lingering sickness on the part 
of my mother, and by a most shocking accident to my 
brother. 

"Then came the varied experiences in New York 
city, when Olive and I bent all our energies toward 
making a home center for the homeless ones. 

"Whether we served them or not I can hardly 
say, but I know it did us each a great deal of good. 
And I am sure that we have proved the truth of the 
saying that the more you identify yourselves with the 
needy ones the more your own needs are supplied — 
the more life you give, the more you receive. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 143 



«n 



That experience was a great blessing, and it 
proved to me the folly of most modern philanthropies, 
conducted as they are at arm's length. 

"I used to waste much time wondering why God 
allowed so much suffering and sin in the world, but 
I am convinced, at last, that it is man who allows it 
and man alone who is responsible for it. 

"The inmost desire of church people must be some- 
thing other than righteousness; otherwise the millions 
of members, with all their resources, could transform 
this nation in a year from a slave market into a fam- 
ily. I was half-conscious of this fact; So when Charles 
put it into our power to know somewhat of the inner 
life of the world I determined to know why the church 
is so powerless in the face of our great industrial prob- 
lems. 

"To that end I studied all styles of churches, 
from the Fifth avenue type to the missions of the 
slums, and everywhere I found substantially what 
Clifford has reported — the interests of this world 
fighting against the interests of the kingdom. 

"Even in the missions, where there is great earnest- 
ness and sincerity, selfishness is made the motive of 
salvation; for men are urged to come to Christ to 
escape hell, and they are even influenced toward their 
decision by the hopes of material benefits here. If you 
could see, as I have, the gross ignorance that abounds 
in the hearts of men as to what the gospel really is, 
you would wonder at the progress that has been made 
in spite of it. 



144 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

"Christ himself warned us that 'whosoever will 
save his life shall lose it/ and I cannot see as the 
element of eternity changes the principle in the least. 
As long as we are influenced by the hope of personal 
benefits, either here or hereafter, we have not learned 
the A, B, C's of the Christ-life. As a result of the 
studies of the inner life of the church I have con- 
cluded that its greatest need is not more workers, 
money or knowledge, but a new birth. Everywhere 
moralit}^, rather than Christianity, holds sway. The 
idea of perfect self-sacrifice is far from church mem- 
bers' thoughts. This accounts for the powerlessness 
of the church, which has at this moment members 
enough to transform the world if they cared for that 
more than for ease of body and mind. 

"We take for granted the necessity of worldly am- 
bitions and standards and then grieve because we 
accomplish so little. 

"We spend six days in the week seeking our own 
advancement in the material world and then expect 
God to work in and through us mightily, forgetting 
that Christ commanded us to cease living according to 
the Gentile standard, which advocates this method. 

"Often and often I attended meetings where 
women, attired in silks and jewels, voiced sentiments 
of regret at the depleted state of the Lord's treasury, 
and seemed anxious to hit upon some way to make up 
ihe deficiency. And many, even among the gor- 
geously appareled ones, were sincere; but, shame on 
the church that it is so, they cannot rid themselves of 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 145 

the conviction that they must maintain their positions 
in society at whatever cost and give only what they 
can spare to the Lord. Think of Christ, if yon can, 
maintaining a handsome establishment, giving lux- 
urious dinners and competing for the spoils of the 
business world! And if it would be incongruous for 
the Master to mind the things of the flesh, it certainly 
must be for those who are called to follow him. 

"If it had not been for the living faith revealed by 
the test in the hearts of men and women in every 
walk of life, I would have despaired. And even as it 
was, I felt so perplexed at the frightful confusion of 
life that I determined to withdraw for awhile into a 
quiet country place and try to arrive at some conclu- 
sion as to the next step to be taken in the solution of 
the problems of the world. 

"So amid the beauties of nature I studied ear- 
nestly, reading everything that gave promise of aid 
and trying to think fearlessly, guided by the spirit of 
truth. 

"One day I stretched myself out on the grass, 
tired of what began to seem profitless study, and gave 
myself up to the enjoyment of the beautiful scene 
before me. The view was superb, the breeze refresh- 
ing and all the sounds of nature lulled me into a de- 
licious state of relaxation. Suddenly I was covered 
with a cloud of thick darkness and in a moment the 
waving branches overhead had disappeared and I was 
conscious of being surrounded by an impenetrable 
substance. Springing to my feet, I found above me 



146 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

a wall of stone! What could it mean? Groping my 
way for a short distance I encountered a walF which 
seemed to have a number of niches in it, each occu- 
pied by some stone figure. Just then I noticed for 
the first time a muffled roar like the distant booming 
of the ocean, and, turning with my back to the wall, 
I could faintly discern a veritable sea of creatures 
surging toward me. On they came, wave after wave, 
breaking as it were at my feet, and receding on either 
side to give place to others. As my eyes became more 
accustomed to the darkness around me I could dis- 
tinguish here and there a face or a form which seemed 
to stand out more distinctly than the rest. 

"The most noticeable things about them were the 
expressions of anxiety and the feverish haste of one 
and all. Yet there was a vagueness and indefiniteness 
even to their forms which made it seem as if they 
hardly existed. 

"As they hurried forward I noticed that each car- 
ried something, which was placed as an offering before 
one or the other of the figures in the niches. 

"The faces impressed me greatly — or what served 
as faces, I had better say, for the features were over- 
shadowed by the expressions which shone through 
them. As one and another came near me I could 
read easily the predominating element in the crea- 
ture's life. Here came Fear, followed by the personi- 
fication of Hatred, or fleshly Lust; behind I saw Jeal- 
ousy approaching, and one and all were pushing for- 
ward with such fierce determination to reach his fa- 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 147 

vorite idol that the weaker ones were crushed and 
trampled under foot. 

"Suddenly I realized that each was rushing on 
without the aid of sight, for all were blind! Not that 
the organs of sight were lacking, but because, having 
chosen to abide in this dark cave, they had not learned 
to use them, and so the 'light of the body' was con- 
spicuous by its absence. 

"On they came, a stunted, misshapen, repulsive 
host! 

"It was becoming intolerable and just as I was 
about to rush wildly away a Tow, sweet voice arrested 
my attention. 'Little one/ it said, 'fear not, but seek 
to understand the vision. Have you not guessed that 
these who press forward so eagerly are all my chil- 
dren, and your brothers and sisters?' 

"It was a revolting thought; surely I bore no re- 
semblance to these low creatures! I was about to 
remonstrate when the voice again broke the silence, 
saying, 'Come/ and I gladly followed a guide whom, 
though I could not see, I was more conscious of than 
of the shadowy forms around me. On all sides I 
saw the same sea of faces, the same anxiety and strife, 
and I cried out to rest, for the sight had wearied me 
greatly. But just then we came to a small opening, 
which gave promise of an escape from the awful scene. 

"One of the creatures was making an effort to pass 
through the opening, but the jagged edges and sharp 
corners cut him cruelly, because of the haste on his 
part. He drew back with a cry of pain; but, instead 



1 i 8 THE P URE CA USE IV A J ' 

of m ing once more with the throng, he hovered 
around the opening with an expression half of anger 
and half of longing. 

"Before I could question my guide the command 
came, 'Humble thyself and go forward with patience 
and the cruel edges will not hurt thee/ and to my sur- 
prise I found that, if one only stooped a little and 
went slowly, there was little difficulty in effecting an 
entrance into the next cave, where a semi-twilight 
reigned. Sinking down from sheer exhaustion, I 
was soon lost in a refreshing sleep. 

"On awakening the voice again urged me on and I 
gladly set forth at a rapid pace, eager to escape from 
these dark regions. 

"As before, I found on every hand innumerable 
beings or seemings rather, resembling those of the 
darker cave, except that their expressions were less 
fierce. And I noticed, too, that occasionally, when 
a weak one fell in the rush toward the niches, another 
rendered him a little assistance in recovering his foot- 
ing. As we neared the next opening I realized that 
a few of these creatures were accompanying us, one 
of whom was encouraged to pass through the small 
aperture by a guiding hand from the other side. 

"On entering the next realm, which was much 
lighter and la ^er than the last, I was struck with the 
manifestation of a spirit of helpfulness on the part of 
all. 

"And now, for the first time, I could detect an oc- 
casional flash of light from the eyes. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 149 

"As we pressed on from cave to cave I saw that 
in each creature there was an element of suffering, as 
well as a restlessness which in itself amounted to pain. 
And it flashed across me that it was a great blessing 
that the inhabitants of the various caves were not 
happy, otherwise they would always prefer to stay in 
their original condition. 

"Another fact that impressed me was that those 
who seemed the most highly developed in the various 
caves appeared the most lonely and were most apt to 
turn toward the light of the realm beyond. 'Will it 
always be so?' I queried. 'Will the most highly de- 
veloped ones always be lonely because of their great- 
ness?' 'Doubtless it seems so to many/ the voice 
replied, 'but as they reach out toward the true life 
they come into touch with the eternal realities and are 
nevermore alone/ 

"As he spoke we passed through another narrow 
opening and stood in the bright light of heaven, 
where all is beauty. The sky, trees, flowers, birds and 
waters were the same that I had always loved with an 
intensity unknown to many. , 

" 'Then it was only a dream — that horrid experi- 
ence in the cave!' I exclaimed. 

" 'Nay, not so, my child/ came the same quiet 
voice. 'It is the racial experience; but, as you have 
failed to profit by all of its lessons, this backward 
glance has been given that you might better under- 
stand the mystery of life. But is this glorious world 



150 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

around you no more than you had thought it? Lis- 
ten!' 

"But even before he spoke I had caught a strain of 
music, which proved to be the harmonies of the Uni- 
verse. And I knew what it meant. This was not the 
music of a material creation, such as I had often fan- 
cied I heard in the ripple of a stream or the roar of 
mighty waters, but it was the spiritual harmonies 
which result from submission to the will of the Uni- 
verse. It is the joyous unending chorus of the liber- 
ated ones. 

"My heart was full and I burst forth in song — 
only to awake! 

"Around me were my books and papers and the 
old, familiar scene of hill and valley. 

"It was too disappointing and the tears came be- 
fore I knew it. 

"The tea-bell at the farmhouse, sounding faintly, 
recalled me to humdrum life and I returned to mingle 
once more with those whose days are filled with duties 
unnecessarily burdensome. 

"Called to the city the next day, I had little time 
to consider the meaning of my dream, for a week of 
great activity ensued, leaving me at its close wearied 
and inert. 

"Toward dusk one afternoon a restlessness seized 
me and I turned from one thing to another to amuse 
myself, yet nothing satisfied me. If I took up a book 
something came between the page and my eyes and 
would not let me read. Sewing was an impossibility, 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 151 

and finally, turning to the piano, I dashed into a veri- 
table war dance, which served to exhilarate me so that 
I longed to do some grand thing. 

"Curiously enough, as I swung around on the 
piano stool my attention was caught by the headlines 
of an article denouncing a college professor who was 
giving a course of lectures to a gathering of seminary 
students. He was accused of being an enemy of the 
truth and an unsafe guide to youth. 

"Having learned that a venomous attack from a 
plutocratic press generally proves that unusual power 
exists in the one so favored, I determined to hear the 
man for myself, for I felt strangely interested in him. 

"Arriving in good season at the church where the 
lectures were being given, I had a good opportunity 
to study the audience as it assembled. 

"It was made up for the most part of students, 
instructors and professors, and I gathered from the 
conversations around me that the lecturer had been 
invited by the seminary students to give them a course 
of seven lectures. But their action had been strongly 
opposed by their professors on the ground that this 
man was a heretic, infidel, anarchist and the like, and 
they even threatened to expel those who insisted on 
hearing him. 

"The majority of the students, however, remained 
firm, and so Prof. Davis came, according to the 
agreement, though he decided, on hearing of the oppo- 
sition, to cut the course down to three lectures in 
order to avoid unnecessary ill-feeling. 



152 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

"This accounted for the attitude of defiance and 
antagonism which was so perceptible in the audience 
as the lecturer came forward to commence his ad- 
dress. I could not but wonder what the outcome 
would be, for the speaker's personality was a strange 
one to face such a wall of adamant. 

"Instead of the stern, austere man that I had 
prepared myself to see, here was a gentle, humble, 
earnest man, who made me think, as he stood before 
these guardians of the oracles of God, of Stephen as 
lie witnessed to the heavenly vision before the Phari- 
sees and lawyers. 

"He stood for a moment seeing the unseen, and 
then said, impressively: 'Think not that I came to 
destroy the law and the prophets. I came not to 
destroy, but to fulfill/ 

"Then, in the most quiet yet forceful way, he con- 
tinued: 'My friends, it has seemed imperative to-night 
to speak somewhat on the subject of Christ's glorious 
gospel, because of the gross ignorance that prevails in 
regard to it. 

" 'If asked to state in your own words the purport 
of Christ's message, I doubt if a tenth in this audience 
could do so. If you say "He came to save us," what 
does that mean? How does he save us and from what 
and to what? 

" 'But it is no wonder that people manifest such 
ignorance, for we neglect to inform ourselves from the 
right sources. We simply accept as our creed that 
which others in past generations have accepted as 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 153 

theirs. I constantly hear people say: "The New 
Testament is enough for me/' or "The Pour Gospels 
are my Bible"; and so thousands who profess a desire 
to know God's will deliberately turn their backs on 
the Old Testament — the Scriptures which Christ said 
testify of him. 

" 'The trouble is, we think that our Lord came to 
reveal something so much higher than anything the 
older writings contain that w r e can afford to neglect 
them. Consequently we are all astray, thinking that 
the New Testament or Will is something other than 
the Old. 

" 'As a result our prominent churchmen know less 
about God's will in relation to our nation to-day than 
the prophets of the Hebrew commonwealth appre- 
hended. (You should have seen the looks exchanged 
among some of the professors! But the speaker con- 
tinued fearlessly.) I repeat we do not even know the 
truth as it is in the Law and the Prophets, and yet we 
flatter ourselves that we know the truth as it is in 
Jesus. 

" 'Let us turn to the law and see what it is that 
Christ said he came to fulfill. 

" 'It is too long to quote at length, but the salient 
points relate to the land question, the treatment of 
the labor problem, the poor, the laws of health, edu- 
cation, the family life and worship. 

" 'If we were living according to God's land laws 
our nation would not present the spectacle which it 
does to-day of fifty-one per cent of our people being 



154 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

landless and homeless. He commanded: "The land 
shall not be sold forever, for the land is mine." We 
can steal it from the Lord, but we can never really 
own it, for he who knew what was in man knew that 
such power as would come from the owning of land 
would result in the oppression that we see everywhere 
to-day. 

" 'Therefore, when the land was portioned out to 
the Israelites, it was so arranged that each should 
hold some for use, but none might have any for per- 
sonal aggrandizement. "For the land is mine" and 
might be used by man to build up the race, but not 
to oppress the weaker brother. 

" 'As to the labor problem, listen to this: "Thou 
shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and 
needy; * * '* thou shalt not steal, neither deal 
falsely; * * * the wages of him that is hired 
shall not abide with thee all night until the morn- 
ing." And this: "If thou lend thy money to any of 
my people * * * thou shalt not be to him as an 



usurer." 



Tf any so-called Christian nation of to-day 
would put these laws into force it would not be pos- 
sible for millions to be without the necessities of life 
and in slavery to a moneyed aristocracy. 

" 'But you say: "It can't be done; our civilization 
is too complex. We have passed beyond all that and 
what we need now is a broad Christian charity for 
all." 

" 'I tell you, friends, what we are pleased to call 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 155 

charity is an abomination to the Lord, and what the 
world needs and the Lord demands of us is simple 
justice. 

" 'It was because the Hebrews refused to obey 
these grand laws of justice that their nation perished. 
"He looked for judgment * * * but behold a 
cry!" 

" 'And as for the complexity of our boasted civiliza- 
tion, will you never see that it is complex just because 
we have not hearkened unto his commandments, 
which were given in order that there might be no 
privileged classes, with all the attendant evils? 

" 'If you consider those early industrial laws to be 
too ideal for our present state then you virtually ad- 
mit that we are living at a lower level than was 
possible before the coming of Christ, for God does not 
mock men by commanding the impossible. 

" 'Let us not try to call ourselves a Christian na- 
tion till we try to be at least good Hebrews! For it 
will be time to ignore the Jewish laws relating to 
rich and poor, trade, health and the social life when 
we have evolved better ones. 

"'But you say: "Christ came to do away with 
law, and now we are under the dispensation of grace." 

" 'Yet I affirm that he came to help us to see the 
eternal principle underlying all the Jewish law, its 
history and all of life in fact, and to give us strength 
to live in harmony with it. 

" 'Christ declared emphatically that he did not 
come to destroy the truth revealed either in the law 



156 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

or the prophets; yet we misinterpret the incarnation 
so frightfully that we end by conceiving of God as 
unlawful, unscientific and irreligious. 

" 'We think of grace as something opposed to law, 
when it is the essence of all law, for what is grace 
but love living and suffering for the loved ones? 

" 'Another common misconception has to do with 
the laws of the Jews in relation to worship. 

" 'Like all the nations around them, the Jews, 
as a whole, regarded their sacrifices and purifications 
as somehow purging them of sin, though the clear 
eye of faith saw, even at that time, that "to obey is 
better than sacrifice and to hearken than fat of 
rams"; and God spoke through prophetic lips the 
truth: "For I desired mercy and not sacrifice and the 
knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." 

" 'But just as the Jews looked at their multi- 
tudinous sacrifices as a substitute for their own obedi- 
ence, men since the Advent have been regarding 
Christ's sacrifice as somehow satisfying God with 
something less than their perfect obedience to the 
principle underlying the law of the Jews. 

" 'As a church, or as a nation, we are far from 
the truth yet, and we hope that Christ's death will 
save us in some magical way, leaving us free to fight 
our brother man to death in business, which is as 
imbecile as for the Jews to beat the people to pieces 
and atone for it by costly sacrifices. 

" 'If there had been any efficacy in the sacri- 
fices, surely the greater the sin the greater the need 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 157 

of sacrifice. Yet men of faith declared at that early 
day: "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination 
unto the Lord," and "Bring no more vain oblations; 
incense is an abomination unto me. * * * When 
ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from 
you; yea, when ye make many prayers I will not hear; 
your hands are full of blood/' Note that it was not 
the blood of battle, but the blood of a people whose 
life was being crushed out of them by an atheistic 
order of society. 

" 'Now, as formerly, God is calling his people to 
repent of their communal sins and honor him in their 
associated life; but we, like ancient Israel, shield 
ourselves behind the truth that "without the shed- 
ding of blood there is no remission of sins," meaning 
thereby to imply that Christ is our substitute, instead 
of the power that will enable us to obey the law. We 
shrink from the obvious meaning of the verse — that 
our blood, or life, must be given to bear away the 
sins of the world. 

" 'God gave the Jews a law which, if it had been 
obeyed, would have made them the servants of man- 
kind, because God's glory would have been revealed 
in them. They chose instead to do what they 
thought would advance their material interests and 
relied on the sacrifices to atone for their shortcom- 
ings, in spite of the unmistakable message of their 
prophets. 

" 'The prophets saw, as do those of our day, that 
God has ever been seeking, not simply a few indi- 



158 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

viduals here and there, but a nation in which he could 
reveal himself. 

" 'There is but one salvation possible for a nation 
as well as for an individual. Salvation never was 
and never will be a magical thing, for "in righteous- 
ness shalt thou be established/' 

" 'Away with the idea of substitution! It is 
pagan to the core! Jesus himself cannot save us ex- 
cept as we walk in the way, uniting to keep "the fast 
that I have chosen, to loose the bands of wickedness, 
to undo the heavy burdens and to let the oppressed 
go free, and that ye break every yoke/' 

" 'When the Jews perished as a nation it was 
through no arbitrary will of God, but because they 
did not choose to incarnate the life of the world in 
their national life. 

« < aj n Yum jg, life, for of him and through him 
and unto him are all things/' 

" 'But though the law, the prophets and Christ 
himself call us to a life of .sacrifice, we persist in the 
atheistic notion that self-preservation is the first law 
of nature, and that a practical unselfishness in busi- 
ness and social life is madness. 

" 'We pretend to believe in him and yet do not 
consider his methods adequate to this world of affairs. 
The church apologizes for the ideal commands laid 
down in the Sermon on the Mount, forgetting that 
God himself is ideal, and that "it is enough if the 
servant be as his lord/' 

" 'And now, when men are realizing as never be- 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 159 

fore the awful confusion and oppression resulting 
from the strife of business and social life based on 
selfishness, they are anxiously asking of each other 
"What shall we do to be saved ?" The answer comes 
back with added force: "Believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house." 
For a vital belief in Sacrificial Love will transform all 
life into the beauty of holiness, or wholeness. 

" 'God grant that we may learn the lesson of the 
law, the prophets and the Lord Christ and unite in 
an associated life for man! 

" 'Then shall be fulfilled all those promises given 
to a nation which shall trust in God for salvation, and 
cease trusting in armies and money and strife; and 
then will be seen the blessings of the Lord, for "God 
shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death 
shall be no more, nor crying nor pain any more. The 
first things are passed away." ' 

"In the impressive) silence following the last sen- 
tence the majority of the people withdrew rapidly 
and I could read in many hearts a cold disdain for the 
lecturer and his message. 

"But a number of us lingered, having been stirred 
as never before, and there followed an open parlia- 
ment of the most informal and helpful kind. 

"The meeting lasted far into the night, as Prof. 
Davis reasoned of righteousness, self-control and 
judgment to come. I sat as one in a trance, see- 
ing and hearing the hidden wisdom of God, which 
none of the princes of this world knew; till finally I 



160 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

realized that the place was almost deserted, and one 
who was both gentle and strong stood by me with the 
light of life in his eyes. 

"In an instant the secret of his fearlessness, his 
untrammeled vision, his power, was revealed — his was 
a soul liberated from the thraldom of self! The 
question he asked me opened my eyes to my own un- 
conscious double-mindedness. With a glance which 
seemed to seize hold of my better self, he quietly put 
the test to me: 'What are you willing V His mean- 
ing was clear because of the evening's talk, and I was 
given strength, then as ever since, to say: 'I renounce 
the will of the world — the will to live, and with the 
help of the Father-Mother God I will to love/ 

"Even if it cost you your life?' he queried. 

It can cost no less/ I responded. Yet I never 
had believed it before. There had always been some 
indefinite reservation, some unconscious effort at sav- 
ing others and protecting myself at the same time. 
But 'my father in the gospel' helped me to see that, 
as Christ was unable to save himself if he willed to 
save others, so we must renounce entirely the desire 
to succeed, live, persist — whatever we choose to call 
it — if we truly desire to love. 

"Do you not all feel that the time has come for 
all those who believe in love to live by it? Do you 
not see that Christians have made the mistake of 
trying to walk by sight instead of by faith? Have 
we not all been hindered in our service of the world 
by fearing to lose our lives completely for it? Even 



a (- 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 161 

our best examples of church members feel that there 
is a limit to their renunciation. But must we not, 
like Christ, love the bruised and fallen, the criminal 
and tramp, as well as the tyrants of our land, and love 
them unto the uttermost? 

"Civilization has reached a great crisis. Our 
country, as well as all civilized nations, needs heroes 
indeed, men and women who will lay down their lives 
for humanity, patriots who will dedicate all they have 
and are to the redemption of mankind from the 
worldly way of living, the fleshly conceptions of life 
and the devil of self-seeking. 

"Individualism has practically been discarded by 
Industry. It is only a question of time when co- 
operation in all forms of business will be the accepted 
rule. But few men apprehend the fact that individ- 
ualism is dead in the religious world as well as in the 
industrial. 

"After nineteen centuries of persuasion we are 
still hesitating to enter into the love life because of 
unbelief. Neither the church nor the world believes 
as yet in the Christ economy. 

"But Don, Hilman and Florence, in fact all of 
us, have seen individuals who have the faith of God. 
The question for us is: 'Shall they each be left to 
fight the organized will of the world single-handed 
or shall we sound the call to arms?' 

"Do we not ourselves believe enough in the com- 
mon life of humanity to live it unreservedly?" 



162 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

An embarrassing silence followed, broken at last 
by Staff ord, who said: 

"You speak of a common life, Elizabeth. Do 
you mean by that that we should bring our shekels to 
a common treasury and live on a crust ?" 

"How can you speak so lightly, Fred? If we are 
not willing to endure all things we certainly haven't 
the spirit of Christ. Phariseeism prates as loudly 
to-day as ever of its faith in God, when it really has 
more faith in its investments and securities and has 
proved its viperine ancestry by trying to serve its own 
interests as well as God's/ 5 

"Well, but seriously, now/ 5 replied Stafford, "if 
we should drop our business and give all our time to 
such things it would only result in failure and we 
would be a burden on our relatives into the bargain." 

"If our motive were the same as Christ's we could 
not fail, 'for love never faileth.' But if you mean 
that we would have to suffer I will ask you one ques- 
tion: Did Christ ever promise any disciple that he 
would be exempt from suffering? The fact that 
Christendom to-day draws back from service when 
persecution and loss of all things threaten, proves 
more than anything else that the love life is not in it. 

"The curse of mankind to-day is private property. 
It is that more than anything else that hinders the 
progress of the race. We regard our private inter- 
ests as opposed to the public good, and so we are 
always debating with ourselves as to how much we 
can afford to give of time ai;d money. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 163 

"If we only knew it, we can't afford to withhold 
anything. In the babyhood of the race the man who 
stole land or grants from the commonwealth, the man 
who thought of himself as apart from the tribe, wa< 
considered a thief and enemy. Gradually, however, 
as a few rose in strength of body and intellect above 
the mass, they subjected their brothers to their will, 
and private property became honored. But let us 
always bear in mind that this state of society is based 
on nothing less than conquest and bloodshed. In a 
very real sense the blood of our brothers crieth unto 
us from the ground. Every soul that holds private 
property is a receiver of stolen goods. And when 
that fact is once realized there can be no peace till 
restitution is made. 'Let him that stole steal no 
more, but rather let him labor, working with his 
hands the thing that is good, that he may have 
whereof to give to him that hath need. 5 

"The charitable gifts of the landed aristocracy are 
not theirs to give. Only such wealth as man pro- 
duces by hone&t hand and brain work belongs to him 
to give. 

"Henceforth the aim of all must be toward hon- 
est life rather than toward high life. 

"Of course, Fred — (seeing that he was about to 
remonstrate) — I admit that the era of private prop- 
erty was a necessary and beneficial one, for it devel- 
oped the individual and revealed his worth to himself 
and to the race. 

"But the real object of life is that man may learn 



164 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

to possess himself instead of property, and to-day our 
boasted civilization thwarts his progress toward the 
goal of self-mastery. 

"We have turned aside for a time and are wor- 
shiping property rights rather than the rights of man. 

"And yet we must see that society is given prop- 
erty — that the natural world exists — only to minister 
unto the spiritual life. We see it so plainly in the case 
of a child that it is strange we cannot grasp the fact 
in relation to humanity as a whole. What are all 
the advantages of home and school life for but the 
culture and development of a man? Material things 
are in themselves worthless to the child if they do not 
develop his higher nature. So, too, in the case of 
humanity at large, property is a means to an end, and 
that end is not the culture of a few elect ones, but the 
culture and perfection of the race. 

"We are in a vast and beautiful kindergarten, but 
the big children have mistaken the purpose of the 
materials used in the object lessons and have de- 
liberately usurped control of them, using them 
for their own amusement and prestige. 

"Government, as we see it to-day, is not necessary 
in the primitive communal state of society, but is the 
result of a system founded on private property, which 
ignores the rights of the weak: legislatures, courts 
and policemen are the inevitable concomitants of 
usurpation and fraud. 

"But tyranny is doomed. Once, long, long ago, 
power was wielded by the g^eat person, and the chief 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 165 

was the conspicuous character in society; personality, 
however, soon sunk to a secondary place in the esti- 
mation of the race, and kings and nobles based their 
authority on their rank, due to their land-grabbing 
abilities; but authority passed on into the hands of 
the money kings, and law to-day reflects the will of 
the moneyed aristocracy. 

"But, even while society at large worships the 
golden calf, the real power is passing into other 
hands, and Hilman's test has shown us clearly what 
many have previously seen with the inner eye — that 
the patriarchal, feudal and commercial epochs are 
finished. Authority henceforth shall be wielded by 
those men and women who recognize but one law and 
live for one purpose — the culture of souls. 

"It is a well-known fact that the physical man 
varies according to his food. And so it is with the 
inner man. If he is brought up in an atmosphere 
of profit-making he becomes a child of the system 
and glories in his ability to extract profits from every 
enterprise. It is the high privilege of those who de- 
sire to love humanity to the uttermost to unite in 
such a way as to make a new atmosphere for men, 
women and children. Civilization must advance to 
socialization or die, and it will be done by a few show- 
ing the way. What matters it if churches, Y. M. C. 
A.'s, social settlements, even co-operative societies 
multiply, so long as men continue to make profits 
out of each other? Our system must be changed 



166 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

from the foundation or tyrants will continue to be 
cultivated. 

"Shall we not join hands in an effort to establish 
a new order of society founded on love, and then live 
by it?" 

Her dark gray eyes were shining with an inner 
light and we could not but respond to her persuasive- 
ness. 

As it was too late to discuss the matter satisfac- 
torily, we arranged for another meeting in the near 
future at Elizabeth's home, in the lower part of New 
York city, and we separated feeling convinced that we 
had seen great things that day. 



When the evening appointed for our meeting ar- 
rived a boisterous storm was raging and each feared 
that our gathering would be a small one. However, 
one after another appeared till we were all assembled 
in the unpretentious, old-fashioned room which 
serves as parlor, library and sitting room for the two 
hostesses who welcome all visitors so heartily. The 
room speaks loudly of its owners, reflecting, as rooms 
seldom do, the personality of the inmates. In fact, 
it was not the room alone that spoke to me of her 
whom I had grown to love so dearly, for the whole 
world seemed eloquent with her presence. Sights 
and sounds recalled some quality in_her, or_some 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 167 

sphere of service, and I could not consider other 
matters, for my one thought night and day was cen- 
tered in Elizabeth. I could not enter into the ques- 
tion of the hour, for there was one supreme question 
crushing me to earth: "How can I live without her?" 
Since my first consciousness of love I had known that 
it was hopeless, I saw clearly that a loving sym- 
pathy existed between herself and Don that was more 
than ordinary friendship. Yet for months I had 
been struggling against my love, with only failure for 
my pains. 

So that all through the first part of the evening 
the subject under discussion was as nothing to me, 
and she who has been my greatest blessing would 
have been my curse had not an angel come to my 
rescue. Prof. Davis, the man whom the world is 
stoning with stones and the church is anathematiz- 
ing, came to us that evening, and by his fearless, 
loving guidance my feet were turned into the paths 
of peace. In his presence I saw that much which the 
natural man calls love is but selfishness masquerad- 
ing as an angel of light, and from that evening I 
have tried to yield my will to the will of the Universe, 
and love unselfishly. 

The discussion that evening turned on the point 
whether our association should be that of individuals 
scattered throughout the commercial system and liv- 
ing by its methods, even though trying not to profit 
by it, or whether we should associate in a closer way, 
trying to cease from strife, and reveal a life of gen- 



168 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

uine brotherhood. And it seemed to us that the 
earnest expectation of the creation is even now wait- 
ing for the revealing of the sons of God, and that 
individuals living the life of brotherhood could go 
out from it to preach the glad tidings with greater 
power and purity than would be possible when living 
by competition. We realized, too, that those who 
had property, so called, would thus bear the infirmi- 
ties of those who had none, and a consequent suffer- 
ing might ensue. Prof. Davis finally put the 
question to us: "Are we willing to trust the Father 
for our physical needs as well as for our spiritual 
ones?" 

"Would we have to accept any particular church 
doctrine?" asked Grey. 

"Can you tell me," responded the professor, "what 
conditions of discipleship Christ laid down? The 
church since the time of Constantine has emphasized 
an intellectual or emotional acceptance of the truth. 
Christ insisted on a vital belief in it. Creeds were 
not conspicuous till the communal life of the church 
was beginning to wane. Christ uses only one test 
as to discipleship — 'Ye are my friends if ye do what- 
soever I command you/ 

"The question is will we live the Life?" 

"That means, I suppose," replied Hilman, "will 
we dedicate all that we have and are toward the one 
object of revealing God's will on earth?" 

"Yes; and in order to do that we must cease tak- 
ing any account of evil, cease all strife and vain- 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 169 

glory and unite in every way to do all that we do to 
the glory of God." 

"How wonderfully we are led and prepared for 
each step in life!" exclaimed Hilman. "Through 
study and experience I have come to see that I really 
own nothing — absolutely nothing. My fortune — 
what is it but the accumulated labor of other men? 
My talents, if I have any, are clearly inherited, and 
what would I be if the thoughts and deeds of past 
generations, recorded in books and in living men 
around me, did not educate me? 

"If I own nothing I must surely hold it all only 
in trust. The children of the earth have taught us 
that by combination one's powers are multiplied 
many fold. 

"Then let it not be true any longer that the chil- 
dren of this world are wiser than the children of 
light; but let us by God's strength form a combine or 
trust, which shall overthrow and break in pieces all 
other trusts, not, however, from a motive of selfish- 
ness, but for the glory of God and the salvation of 
all." 

His voice thrilled with enthusiasm and his dec- 
laration of faith and zeal stirred me mightily. 

Elizabeth sprang from her chair, and, standing 
before us instinct with life and beauty, exclaimed: 

"Think of the freedom and power of such an 
associated life! And how simple and natural it all is! 
We have but to become as little children and in trust- 
ful obedience learn of our great Teacher, the Artist of 



170 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

the world. By humbling ourselves and working out 
his methods in our earthly life we will learn of him 
the art of arts — the art of living!" 

After further consultation as to the best way of 
inviting all who wished to enter the life to join us in 
our fellowship of service and suffering w£ parted in 
peace. 

Elizabeth was appointed as one of those who were 
to preach the good news of repentance from dead 
works to a living faith; and her influence was mar- 
velous. 

She chose to take for her field that which many 
might feel to be the hardest of all — that of the 
churches. For the distortions and misconceptions 
that abound in the church make it hard for the gospel 
of the kingdom to be received by it. But Elizabeth 
declared that her experience had led her to believe 
that even yet the most unselfish souls, the most ear- 
nest workers, and those best adapted to association, 
w r ere to be found within the circles of church influ- 
ence. It was not an easy task, for she was misunder- 
stood and persecuted, but as a result large numbers 
2 of people, among rich and poor, learned and un- 
learned, responded to the call. 

Men and women rejoiced in the opportunity of 
creating an environment where human flowers could 
be cultivated wdth as much care as is now bestowed 
upon cattle, thus saying, in a practical way: "How 
much, then, is a man of more value than a sheep!" 

"And the multitude of them that believed were of 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY m 

one heart and one soul, and not one of them said that 
aught of the things which he possessed was his own, 
for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold 
them and brought the prices of the things that were 
sold and laid them at the apostles' feet." 

Thus was made possible a faithful city, which by 
its lifting up of the Christ-life will yet be a light to 
lighten the Gentiles, who are anxious about material 
welfare; for its Righteousness shall go forth as 
brightness and its salvation as a lamp that burnetii." 

From the first day of our fellowship we have en- 
deavored in all things "to be found in peace," "to 
cease from strife" and vainglory, and to live for the 
world as truly as our Redeemer does. 



On reaching the closing paragraph Barrett sat 
some time meditating on the experiences of my 
friends, and his unconscious criticism was just what 
yours probably has been — such a life would be power- 
ful for good, but it can't be done while the world is 
as it is 

Yet he mused over the various characters in the 
outline and felt much impressed by the heroism 



172 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

which dared to attempt what he considered the im- 
possible. 

"To think," he exclaimed to himself, "of men 
and women nowadays being able to say, like Paul in 
speaking of Christ — 'for whom I suffered the loss of 
all things!' 

"I wonder if the secret of the power of the early 
church may not be that instead of its being a matter 
of peculiar inspiration it was one of peculiar conse- 
cration." 

Suddenly he remembered my request that he 
should look up the passages I had marked and con- 
sider the decision of my friends in the light of the 
first followers of the Lord. 

Accordingly he turned from one selection to an- 
other and read, among others, these words: 

" Mesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of 
God and sajdng: The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of 
God is at hand; repent ye and believe in the gospel/ 

"'But he said unto them: I must preach the 
good tidings of the 'kingdom of God to the other cities 
also; for titer ef ore was I sent.' 

" 'I say unto you, among them that are born of 
women, there is none greater than John; yet he that 
is but little in the kingdom of God is greater than he. 5 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 173 

•\ 

"How strange! Surely John was a saved man, 
yet he does not seem to have belonged to this king- 
dom which Christ came to preach! 

" 'Except a man be born from above he cannot 
see the kingdom of God/ 

" 'Passing along by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw 
Simon, and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a 
net into the sea: for they were fishers. 

"'And Jesus said unto them: Come ye after me 
and I will make you to become fishers of men. 

" 'And straightway they left the nets and followed 
him. And * * * a little further he saw James 
* * * and John * * * and straightway he 
called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the 
boat with the hired servants and went after him. 

" 'And after these things he went forth and beheld 
a publican, named Levi, sitting at the place of toll, 
and said unto him: Follow me. And he forsook all 
and rose up and followed him/ 

"'Verily I say unto you except ye turn and be- 
come as little children, ye shall in nowise enter into 
the kingdom of heaven. 

" 'No man can serve two masters. * * * 
Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for your 
life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet 
for your body, what ye shall put on. * * * For 



174 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

after all these things do the Gentiles seek. * * * 
But seek ye first his kingdom and his righteousness; 
and all these things shall be added unto you/ 

" 'It is enough if the disciple be as his master/ v 
Thoroughly wearied with the excitement of the 
last few days, Barrett pillowed his head on his arms, 
intending to think the matter all out for himself. 
But it was taken out of his hands, for, dropping asleep, 
he received a vision which settled the whole matter 
for him. 

In his own words this was what he saw and heard: 

"Before me spread the beautiful Sea of Galilee 

and on the western shore, not far from Capernaum, 

I beheld two brawny men casting their net into the 

sea. 

"Just then I saw one, whom I felt must be the 
Loving One, approach them and heard him call to 
them to give up their daily occupation and unite with 
him in a life of utmost service to the world. 

"Andrew stared at Peter and said, sotto voce: 
'What a strange thing for him to ask! He probably 
doesn't know that we haven't enough saved up to 
live upon. Tell him, Peter, how impossible it would 
be/ 

"Meanwhile the great Idealist waited patiently for 
the answer of the two earthy fishermen. 



THE PI 'RE CAUSEWAY 



i 



"Peter, the impulsive, called across the water that 
separated them from the shore, saying: 'Lord, thou 
must see how it is with us. We couldn't follow thee 
in the sense of dropping everything. But of course 
we'll do all we can in the synagogues and in our daily 
work to serve thee, for we do truly love thee, Lord! 
Oh, row in, Andrew; we must talk it over, so that he 
won't feel hurt!' And before the boat grounded 
Peter had sprung ashore, saying, as he grasped the 
Saviors hands: 'Dear friend, thou must see how 
utterly impracticable it would be for us to give up 
our means of support. What would become of us and 
our families? Surely, Lord, we must have misunder- 
stood thee? Why, if thy followers should abandon 
their means of livelihood it would bring thy cause 
into ridicule as the dream of fanatics P 

"The three men were walking back and forth 
along the shore and as Peter finished the Lord an- 
swered quietly: 'What is that to thee? Folloic thou 
me. Shall not the Lord of all the earth do right? 
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?' 

" 'Oh, my master, thou knowest that I love thee! 
I have frankly confessed thy name in the synagogue, 
and at home; and I am willing to give, not simply a 
tenth, as our father Jacob did, but all that I have 
beyond what I need for the support of my family. 



176 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

All my spare time and money is at thy service, Lord, 
for I do truly love thee/ 

" 'Whosoever renounceth not all that he hath he 
cannot be my disciple. Ye are my friends if ye do 
whatsoever I command you/ replied the Lord. 

"Andrew, who had been nervously whittling a 
stick while this conversation was going on, came to a 
standstill and said, in some irritation: 'But, Lord, 
we never heard of such a thing! Why, all our best 
men, those learned in the law, our teachers and inter- 
preters of the Scriptures all say: "Don't be extreme, 
nor expect that you are called upon to do differently 
from our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They 
had faith that God would bring things out all right 
in the end, if they did the best they could in their 
own walk in lif e." J 

"The Savior's eyes, filled with great sadness, wan- 
dered over the lake, and after an interval he said: 
'Have ye not read how the stone which the builder^ 
rejected is the only foundation that can be laid? It 
is because the temple congregation have built on a 
false foundation that the light that is in them is 
darkness; and how great is that darkness! 

" 'I never hold any man responsible for obeying 
the church, even though she professes to build up 
Zion; but I do hold you each responsible for obeying 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 177 

the truth revealed in me. I am the Way. Walk ye 
in it. 

" 'I can be the author of eternal salvation only to 
those who obey me in all things. 

" 'Come, Peter and Andrew, will ye not believe 
in me in very truth and follow me to suffering, death 
and victory?' 

"A moment's hesitation and confusion on the 
part of the fishermen was followed by the emphatic 
declaration of lack of faith. 

" 'Master, we will follow thee in every way we 
can, but we cannot give up our business. That is too 
much to ask of any one. Of course it is all right for 
thee to live without a thought as to thy support, be- 
cause thou hast great power and will be cared for 
somehow; and then, besides, if thou art the Messiah, 
thou must be a sacrifice for us. But as for mere 
human beings, it would be folly for us to take life 
too seriously or attempt that which only the Messiah 
can do/ 

"The piercing glance of the Lord as he said, 'The 
eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the earth 
to show himself strong on behalf of those whose 
hearts are perfect toward him/ made both men 
wince, and they were about to enter again into argu- 
ment when Christ said impressively: 'I am the Way, 



178 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

the Truth and the Life. He that climbeth up some 
other way, the same is a thief and a robber!' 

"In a moment he had vanished from their sight 
and the two commonplace fishermen turned once 
more to their much-prized occupation. 

"Another scene followed this, somewhat like it. 
John and James, mending their net by the seashore, 
saw the Savior approaching and ran eagerly to meet 
him. After a few words of greeting Jesus said very 
quietly: 'John and James, brought up as you have 
been in the fold of the church, you must be aware 
that it has been possible always for men to be saved, 
as the church calls it, "for in every nation he that 
feareth God and worketh righteousness is acceptable 
to him." 

" 'So, then, it was not necessary for me to come 
here in the flesh to save individuals, but I am come 
to preach the good news of a kingdom which shall 
break in pieces and overthrow every other kingdom. 
For all the kingdoms of this world are founded on 
some form of selfishness, but in this heavenly king- 
dom the corner-stone shall be my life. I am come to 
call men and women who believe in my principle of 
life into a fellowship with me which shall socialize 
and redeem the world. 

" 'I am come not to condemn the world, but to 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 179 

save the world, in all its aspects, and to redeem it 
from the atheistic civilization of the worldly king- 
doms into a kingdom of love. Love never faileth; 
whereas thou canst see what frightful confusion and 
oppression is the result of the self-seeking policies of 
the world. 

" "The power of God and the wisdom of God in 
overturning this enthronement of self is he whom 
you know as the Lamb of God; and he can save the 
world only as men and women unite to obey Him. 

"'What sayest thou, James and John? Canst 
thou have faith in the Son of Man?' 

"Disappointment and chagrin were manifested in 
the brothers' faces as James replied: 

" 'Pardon me, Lord, but our church fathers must 
know what is right, for they devote all their time to 
studying the Scriptures. And they have never ad- 
vocated such extreme measures.' 

" 'Art thou not aw r are that those who have not 
the spirit of Christ can wrest the Scriptures to their 
own destruction?' said Christ. 

" 'It is the world-spirit, both in and out of the 
church, that I have come to conquer. Wilt thou join 
with me in uplifting the Christ life, that all may be 
converted unto it and saved?' 

"John said, reluctantly: 'I don't believe I quite 



180 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

understand thee, Lord. It sounds as if we were re- 
quired to cast everything to the winds and follow 
thee in thine own manner of life. Surely thou canst 
not demand that we should do that which will make 
us a burden on others?' 

" 'John, canst thou not see that in the present 
system, founded as it is on strife, every man is even 
now an intolerable burden on every other man? For 
as men have chosen to arrange things one man's suc- 
cess is another's failure, and there is none that doeth 
good — no, not one. I am asking you to join with me 
in revealing the Christ-life of love and co-operation 
in the production and distribution of the necessities 
of life, so that all men will be able to say: "I believe 
in the communion of the saints/' 

" 'My brothers, I need you; the poor, tired wan- 
dering world needs you. Will you not unite with 
me in a fellowship of suffering and obedience?' 

"While John cast about for some fitting reply 
James remonstrated: 

" 'Master, thou dost not seem to understand the 
situation. Thy plan is a noble one and will come in 
nicely a little later, but it is too ideal for the present. 
We mustn't offend men by such a step as that, but 
while pursuing our daily occupations we'll do all we 
can to educate the people up to such a standard of 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 181 

life. Truly, Lord, if thou only knewest the world 
of affairs a little better, thou wouldst see how im- 
practicable a life thou art proposing. The world 
isn't ready for such an ideal life/ 

"'How can it be?' answered the Savior. Tor 
the mind of flesh is enmity against God. It is that 
mind which must be overcome. Behold, now is the 
day of salvation. Will ye not come unto me that ye 
might have life?' 

"James somewhat shamefacedly confessed: 'Lord, 
this is too high a matter for mere men. For the 
present we will do what we can in our own walk in 
life, and when we've enough laid by to live on we'll 
give all our time to thy cause/ 

"Then said the Lord, with holy indignation: 
'Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things 
which I say? While ye are in bondage to this world 
and its methods ye are yet in your sins!' 

"The scene by the lake faded, to be replaced by 
the busy Capernaum road, at the point where Levi 
was sitting at the receipt of custom, alert, capable, 
interested in the affairs of business. The Savior 
approached and, going up to Matthew, laid his hand 
on his shoulder, saying: 'Leave all and follow me to 
death and victory!' 

"In amazement Matthew responded: 'Lord, our 



182 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

priests and wise men have always taught that our 
Messiah was to suffer for us, and thou dost ask that 
we suffer with thee. Surely thou dost not expect 
mere men to be equal to such things?' 

" 'No, Matthew, I am asking thee to receive me, 
and so have power to become a son of God instead 
of a mere man; for the earnest expectation of the 
creation waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God! 

" 'Wilt thou join with me in living out before the 
world the heavenly life of God?' 

"Keluctantly Matthew responded: 'Well, to be 
honest, Fve heard from others of thy strange demand, 
and I think it is altogether too ideal, too chimerical 
and unsuited to our times. Besides, our church 
doesn't believe in any such extreme measures, and 
what is good enough for them is good enough for me/ 

"The Master turned away with tears in his eyes, 
saying: 'Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killeth the 
prophets and stoneth them that are sent unto her! 
How often would I have gathered her children to- 
gether, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under 
her wings, and ye would not!' " 

Barrett concluded by saying: "Suddenly I real- 
ized that he was coming straight toward me, his eyes 
as of a flame of fire and quick to discern the thoughts 
and intents of the heart. As he approached me I 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 183 

trembled from head to foot, but not from fear, for 
my heart was perfect toward him at last, and, throw- 
ing myself at his feet, I cried: 'Lord, I believe; help 
thou mine unbelief!' 

"As he raised me to my feet he said softly: 'The 
first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is of 
heaven. Come with me and I will show thee how 
many things thou must suffer for my name's sake. 

"Yea, the hour cometh, and now is, when who- 
soever persecuteth those who unite with me in the 
social life shall think that he offered service unto 
God. 

" 'But be of good cheer, for though while abiding 
in the world-life ye have had great tribulation, in me 
ye shall have peace/ 

"As he finished the Savior's face was a vision of 
heavenly beauty, and with outstretched arms he cen- 
tered my thought on the crucifixion of the self-life, 
drawing me irresistibly to himself and his cross. 

"With a cry of joy I sprang toward him, and — 
awoke, to find myself standing in the middle of the 
room alone; yet I was never less alone, for at last I 
was in touch with the realities!" 

Barrett had come to me in haste, soon after his 
strange experience, in order that he might speak of 
the things which he had both seen and heard, and 



184 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

as he related his vision with glowing cheeks and 
shining eyes I involuntarily contrasted his confes- 
sion of faith with the halting, formal (I am almost 
tempted to say shamefaced) witnessing in our re- 
ligious meetings of the various churches. 

If no words had voiced Alan's conviction, his face, 
radiant with joy and peace, would have spoken for 
him. From that hour the unity of the whole man 
was restored and he himself was the best proof of the 
"hope which maketh not ashamed." 

After awhile he said: "But when can I see the 
wonderful city that you spoke of, whose builder and 
maker is God?" 

"To-morrow, if you say so. We must take quite 
a trip. Can you leave on such a short notice?" 

"Of course I can," he replied. "My one business 
in life now is to follow on to know the Lord." And 
there was such a happy ring in his voice that it 
seemed almost as if he had laughed. 

So we agreed to start for our destination in the 
central part of New York state about eleven o'clock 
the next day, and then separated for the night. 



PAET II. 
THE SEEVANT OF JHVH. 



PART II. 

THE SERVANT OF JHVH. 

The next day was Saturday and we had arranged 
to reach our objective point about four o'clock in the 
afternoon. After leaving the cars we drove about 
two miles through the woods, the road ascending 
gradually all the way. 

Finally we came out on high, open ground, from 
which we had a fine bird's-eye view of the city to 
which we were bound. 

The term "city" is a misleading one, for to the 
modern mind it means such a crowding together as 
renders any real beauty of nature or architecture 
impossible. It means, too, dirt, noise, confusion, 
malodorous smells, continual haste and anxiety. 

In none of these respects is ours a city. Never- 
theless we use the term advisedly, for we know that 
in time the modern abominations of desolation shall 
disappear, and just as our small local city was born 
of God, the New Jerusalem coming down out of 

187 



188 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

heaven shall be the city of the world, realized when 
the prayer that Christendom has prayed and not be- 
lieved is answered: "Thy kingdom come on earth, 
and thy will be done on earth as in heaven" 

As I drew rein, there lay our beloved city before 
us in peace and beauty, the simple, unpretentious 
homes scarcely visible from our height, because of 
the grand old forest trees abounding everywhere, and 
even the four main thoroughfares, which are as broad 
as the grandest boulevards of the world, were not 
conspicuous for the same reason. 

As we sat there we were facing directly westward, 
and the city below us might be said to be doing the 
same, as it is situated on the eastern end of a beau- 
tiful lake, and the bright blue waters are a center of 
attraction. 

The high land from which we were gazing slopes 
downward quite rapidly till near the base of the hill, 
where we could discern in amongst the trees which 
cover the lower part of it an immense amphitheater 
cut out of the hill in such a way as to face the lake 
west of us. Starting from this amphitheater, and in 
a direct line from where we sat, one of the four main 
boulevards of the city stretches in a straight line to 
the center of the community, where stands a massive 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 189 

gray stone building constructed in the shape of a 
Greek cross. 

The boulevard spreads out here into a wide open 
space encircling this building, and then continues in 
the same direction as before till it reaches the lake 
shore, where it again widens out in two directions, 
leading around the lake on both sides, though these 
arms soon dwindle to the width and appearance of 
the usual country road. 

We could also trace the other three boulevards, 
one cutting the Grand Boulevard at right angles at 
the central building and the other two bisecting these 
at the same point, forming eight angles at the center, 
each of forty-five degrees, and all extending to the 
outer limits of the city. Though we could not see 
it clearly from where we sat, it will aid you to see the 
place in imagination to say that all the other im- 
portant streets were in the shape of circles, having 
for their common center the Building of the Cross, 
so that the bare plan of the main thoroughfares would 
be something like a huge spider's web. 

Barrett was lost to everything except the scene 
before him and by following his eyes I knew when 
he had noted not only what has been described, but 
also the clusters of large workshops, dairies and so 



190 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

forth which are located at the termini of all the four 
boulevards except the one leading to the lake. 

But of all the points of interest the grand build- 
ing at the heart of the city seemed to attract him 
most, and no wonder! 

It is built of the best gray stone, in a style of 
architecture which in its grace, freedom and grandeur 
reminds one somewhat of the world's noblest ef- 
forts, built before man's artistic nature was smoth- 
ered by the profit-making spirit of commercialism. 

The plan and execution of this unique work of 
art impresses the beholder with the spirit of the 
builders. Surely those who had a hand in the pro- 
duction of such beauty are genuine artists, free from , 
anxiety, and with, time enough to perfect everything. 

Alan Barrett finally turned to me with his singu- 
larly charming smile and said: "Now tell me all 
about it. What is the building at the heart of the f 
city? It looks grand enough for a cathedral, but 
it doesn't look like any ancient or modern one I 
know of." 

"It is, nevertheless, the grandest meeting place 
of God and man yet realized on earth," I replied, 
"for there we commune with him both in work 
which builds up mankind, and in worship which 
is a real communion of the saints. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 191 

"The audience hall in the center of the building 
is in the shape of a regular octagon, four sides of 
which form the starting points for the wings of the 
building, which make the cross; and the other four 
sides contain beautiful windows, which serve to ad- 
mit plenty of light and fresh air. This hall is the 
place where all our large public meetings are held 
when the weather does not permit the use of the 
amphitheater right at our feet. 

"The four wings of the building are devoted to 
the printing and publishing of our city, as well as 
furnishing a center for all literary and educational 
interests. 

"But we must drive on or we will be late to tea," 
and even as I spoke men and women could be seen 
leaving the business buildings and strolling home- 
ward in happy groups. 

"Why, it isn't six o'clock. They surely can't be 
stopping work already?" 

"Yes; they are through for the day," I answered, 
"although it is only five instead of six o'clock. 

"And, what is more, we are thinking seriously of 
stopping work at four hereafter. You see, when all the 
people work, not for money-profit but simply for the 
needed things, and when all co-operate in the making 



1<)2 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

of them, there is enough made in much less time than 
you would think. 

"Even in the worldly way, of competition, one 
man, with the aid of machinery, is able to make in 
one week enough cloth to supply a village for a year. 
He produces much more wealth than he really needs 
or gets. But there is a general belief that mankind 
is better off when slaving to make cheap and often 
adulterated goods, which may be sold for more than 
they cost to make, than he would be in making only 
such things as rational human beings want, and those 
of genuine and fitting quality. So, by this singular 
arrangement, a money-profit is made which is about 
as much use to a healthy normal man as so much 
coal dust. For what more does he want than the 
necessary things? Of course you and I know that 
by the competitive system, with its worship of metal- 
profit, the vast majority never gel; the necessities, and 
a few, by means of greater cunning and superior 
advantages, are able to get and hold control of the 
masses. 

"But when men can stop killing each other long 
enough to think sanely and independently they will 
see that if they would only agree to be 'found in 
peace 5 instead of in strife, they could each have all 
that is needed to build up a man physically, men- 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 193 

tally and morally; and what, then, would he want of 
gold, silver or tin?" 

As we were chatting I had driven straight down 
the Grand Boulevard leading westward from the am- 
phitheater, till we had reached the second circular 
street. Then, turning to our right, we drove through 
it, crossing two other boulevards, and then, turning 
into a narrow wood road which winds among the 
natural forest trees, we reached my headquarters in 
ample time to make ready for tea. 

Jumping out, I led the way across the long, wav- 
ing grass to the dearest little cottage on the grounds. 
At least so it seemed to me, nestling in among the 
grand old trees, in striking contrast to the unbear- 
able sky-scrapers of New York! 

As we entered the large, cheery room which serves 
as general sitting room, library and hall, I said: 
"Welcome, brother, to all we have and are. As long 
as you wish, this home is yours; and here come some 
others who will welcome you, too." 

While speaking we had stepped out again onto 
the wide, shady, rustic piazza, from which we can 
catch quite a glimpse of the sparkling lake in the 
distance, and were just in time to meet my two 
chums, Hilman and Wentworth. 

As they bounded up the steps it seemed to me as 



194 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

if I had never seen finer specimens of vigorous man- 
hood. They were returning from the work of the 
day, and in place of the drawn, weary looks seen in 
those returning from the uncertain and profitless toil 
of the world, their faces were glowing with health, 
and vivacity and energy were revealed in every 
feature. 

They gave Alan a hearty greeting and after a few 
moments' conversation Hilman remarked that there 
was none too much time to prepare for tea, which led 
Alan to infer that we bachelors actually did our own 
cooking. A good round laugh followed his query in 
regard to it, while Wentworth explained: "You don't 
really suppose that each home in our city slaves away 
individually on matters that can be done so much 
better by co-operation, do you? You shall see, 
man of the world, what we gain by joining our forces. 

"But come; here's your room and I hope you will 
be able to wash away the dirt of the world so as to 
clear your eyes for a vision of beauty such as those 
who exist by strife and pretense cannot even imag- 
ine." 

In a moment we had scattered to our rooms and 
soon reappeared refreshed and eager for a hearty 
meal. -'•■-..' 

"WhereV Winter?" I asked, "He will be late." 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 195 

"No," explained Hilman; "he has started on a 
lecturing tour and won't be back for a month — poor 
fellow. Fm sorry, too, for your friend will miss a 
good deal in not meeting him." 

A walk of about fifteen minutes, through foot- 
paths that wind prettily among the trees far enough 
away from each home to insure privacy to all, brought 
us to a large, oval-shaped building, with wide piazza 
encircling it. The foundation is of uncut stones, 
gathered when the woods were cleared of underbrush, 
the framework of gray shingles, and the whole of 
soft, natural colorings that blend nicely with the 
surrounding greens. 

On entering the dining hall one is immediately 
struck by the fact that the interior of the oval. struc- 
ture is circular, which is caused by enough being cut 
off from the oval to allow for kitchen and pantries. 

: We were quite early, and so, passing in, we strolled 
over to the fountain in the center, where rocks, ferns 
and flowers add greatly to the beauty of the room. 
Seating ourselves on a low divan by the water, we 
could easily see the lake as it glimmered through the 
pines which surrounded us. In fact, we seemed even 
yet to be in the woods, for the wall of the hall is so 
arranged as to make it possible for us to be practically 
outdoors— except in inclement weather. And. the 



196* THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

high arched roof and graceful pillars give a sugges- 
tion of airiness and freedom which is a restful influ- 
ence all through the meals. 

"There's one thing that puzzles me greatly," said 
Barrett. "How is it possible in this weak and sickly 
generation for so many people to agree to eat in such 
a finely ventilated place as this? One of the many 
good things that civilized man is afraid of is fresh 
air. How do you account for this out-of-door dining 
room?" 

"That's easy enough explained. Our aim is to 
make all the conditions such that we may have the 
abounding physical life of the wild animals. And 
as continual pure air is one of the necessities, we in- 
sist on that in all our public gatherings, many of 
which are really held in the open air. 

"But in case of any one coming among us so af- 
fected by the unnatural conditions of his past life as 
to be made uncomfortable here, he is at perfect lib- 
erty to eat at home, in the ordinary lifeless way. You 
will soon find that here the perfect liberty exists that 
is the result of the spirit of Christ. But you will also 
find that that spirit influences each one powerfully 
toward natural healthy living. 

"And it does not take one long after coming 
among us to get so in touch with Mother Nature as 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 197 

to be able to appreciate and benefit by her many 
blessings." 

While we were chatting the room had filled 
rapidly and Hilman now led the way to our cozy 
round table near the center, and, remaining standing, 
we were soon joining heartily in a thanksgiving 
hymn. There is no faltering or dragging, no sug- 
gestion of half-heartedness or physical weakness in 
our songs of praise; but instead the very rafters ring 
with the joyous music. The strains of the hymn had 
hardly died away when every head was bowed in 
simple and silent prayer to the "Giver of all good 
gifts." 

As we were seating ourselves I saw tears in Alan's 
happy eyes, so touched was he by the sincere com- 
munion between the children and the common 
Father. 

All during the supper hour snatches of earnest 
conversation, on higher topics than food or personal 
peculiarities, such as one often hears in the world, 
were audible, but for the most part merriment pre- 
vailed. It interested me to see how amazed Barrett 
was when Leta came to serve us. Naturally in a 
civilization that exalts idleness and luxury one looks 
down upon those who work. But we believe in the 
aristocracy of labor, and honor those only who can 



198 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

say, as our Savior did, "I am among you as one 'who 
serves." Consequently we lack the useless lady, but 
are instead blessed with women such as God con- 
ceived. 

Barrett's innate delicacy prevented his broaching 
the subject during the meal and his manhood re- 
vealed itself in his respectful bearing toward our little 
waitress. 

After the meal we chatted some time on the 
piazza, where Barrett met many of our brothers and 
sisters, and seemed so well entertained that we would 
have spent the evening there if Wentworth had not 
urged us to hear the music at the lake front. 

He is passionately fond of singing and belongs 
to the picked chorus of our fellowship, which meets 
twice a week in pleasant weather on the plaza at the 
foot of the Grand Boulevard. Accordingly we three 
boarded the cars, which travel a winding route, in 
ever-narrowing circles, to the Building of the Cross, 
where a loop takes them back again over the same 
circular course. As we were not bound for the cen- 
ter, we jumped off as the car came to the lake, and 
strolled across the wide open space that has been 
cleared of most of its trees. The grass at this place 
is kept closely cut and is of such a brilliant green as 
to resemble moss. For the most part, except around 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 199 

the public buildings, the grass and trees are left in 
their natural beauty, so that our homes, scattered 
artistically through the woods, resemble more the 
summer residences of a mountainous region than the 
typical suburban home. Only the underbrush and 
such trees have been cleared away as were neces-sary 
to admit enough sunshine. 

In the center of the plaza is an open-air accom- 
modation for the chorus to which Wentworth be- 
longs, and also for a large orchestra. The music can 
be heard to advantage for a long distance, though 
most prefer to hear it while strolling by the water or 
resting near it. We chose a cozy nook, which gave 
us a good view of the whole scene, and between the 
sights and sounds which greeted us it seemed like a 
dream of beauty. 

After returning from the confusion and noise of 
New York it always takes me some time to realize 
that I am still in the body when surrounded by such 
perfect peace and joy as we have here. 

As groups of people came within view their free- 
dom and grace of carriage, and their wholesomeness 
of face and figure made it seem hardly possible that 
they were of one blood with the nervous, self-con- 
scious-, awkward people I had left that morning. 

The whole scene gave the impression of a holiday 



200 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

among a race of beings who knew the meaning of 
dignity, beauty, generosity and simplicity. 

We had been sitting for some time without ex- 
changing a word, when, in an interval of music, 
Barrett broke the silence by saying: "You say that 
each is left perfectly free to eat, what and when and 
where he chooses. I have been observing the cos- 
tumes of these citizens and am wondering whether 
there are not some limitations imposed, as it does not 
seem to me likely, that unless such were the case, 
there would be such a general air of simplicity. Tell 
me, how is it managed?" 

"Perhaps this would be a good time to tell you 
somewhat about our common life, in which we are 
trying to conduct things so as to be able to say, like 
the early Christians: 'We wrong no man, we corrupt 
no man, we take advantage of no man/ But first I 
want you to tell me what has been your impression 
of it so far. Does it savor of limitation or freedom, 
of meagerness or fullness, of sameness or variety? In 
short, does it seem to stifle and distort the highest 
instincts of mankind, or does it tend to develop thern 
into life and beauty?" 

"One sentence has rung in my head ever since my 
first contact with these citizens: 'When Christ, who is 
our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 201 

him be manifested in glory/ For here I see in men 
and women much that approaches the delicacy, vari- 
ety, beauty and strength — in a word the glory — of 
God revealed in Nature. 

"Still, how is it possible, if each is allowed per- 
fect freedom in his affairs, that none should mistake 
license for liberty? Surely joining the brotherhood 
does not make men and women perfect either i i heart 
or intellect?" 

"In the first place," I replied, "no one can be 
willing to suffer the loss of all things for Christ un- 
less his heart is perfect — that is, sincere toward God. 
But, as I think you meant, we certainly have to grow 
in grace (which is love realizing itself irf all affairs 
of life) and also in the knowledge of the truth; and 
so in all things, which of course includes dressing, 
eating and working, we are following on to know the 
Lord. 

" 'Even Christ pleased not himself;' so we, as a 
body of believers in the life of sacrifice and service 
for the uplifting of the whole man, deny fleshly lusts 
and strive earnestly to do all to the glory of God. 

"Certain principles are plain enough to provoke 
no argument, such as the indisputable fact that 
men, women and children should so dress as to leave 
the body perfectly free for its fullest possible de- 



202 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

velopment and use; or that no food should be taken 
into the body which cannot minister to its welfare. 
We believe also that no work should be undertaken 
by man which tends in the least degree toward his 
physical, mental or moral deterioration. 

"Where men do not live for pretense or self- 
gratification much work that seemed formerly to be 
necessary is cast aside as worthless. 

"And where arduous work, or very unpleasant 
work, still seems necessary, the hours and conditions 
are made such as to reduce the nervous or physical 
strain to a minimum. 

"But to return to the subject of dress. First we 
agree that it must be edifying, for the physical man 
must be built up to its highest possible attainment; 
then, learning from God's book of nature, we judge 
that it must be as beautiful as the commonwealth 
can afford for all. 

"Many who come to us are aware of the fact that 
the sordid commercial system of the world has cor- 
rupted and dwarfed their artistic nature; and so they 
gladly avail themselves of the aid of our men and 
women who have chosen to devote their artistic tal- 
ents to the proper clothing of the body." 

"Stop a minute/' exclaimed Alan. "How do you 
get around that verse, 'Take no thought for your life, 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 203 

* * '* nor yet for your body, what ye shall put 
on'?" 

"Well, in the first place, we don't try to get around 
it. We are trying in our communal life to obey all 
those neglected commands given in the Sermon on 
the Mount. For instance, many martyrs in the world 
are bending all their energies, resisting evil, trying 
to cope single-handed with Caesar's realm. Whereas 
Christ said, 'Kesist not the evil,' and we are trying 
unitedly 'to take no account of evil/ to repudiate 
selfishness and self-seeking in every form and build 
our faith on the positive creative force of love. 

"In that wonderful discourse on the mount Christ 
is urging the children of faith to give up walking by 
sight, leaning on such props as bank accounts, life 
insurances, superior powers of self-aggrandizement 
and the like, to cease being anxious about food and 
raiment and devote their lives to establishing a com- 
munal life which will develop all men into the 
beauty of the Christ-life. 

"Our Savior is contrasting the earthy method of 
anxiously seeking place and possesssions (as the ma- 
jority of church members are doing to-day) with the 
Christ-life of complete self-renunciation. 

"He says plainly, in the sixth chapter of Matthew, 
the Gentiles — those who are moved by the world- 



204 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

spirit of strife and self-seeking — are axious about 
food, raiment and material support; in a word, they 
walk by sight. 'But be ye not like unto them 
* * * But seek ye first the kingdom of God and 
his righteousness/ Make your life object the estab- 
lishment of the Kingdom of Peace, which shall break 
in pieces and overthrow all other kingdoms. 

"Millions of discouraged men, hopeless women 
and destitute little ones are waiting for the children 
of faith to dedicate their whole lives to the redemp- 
tion of creation from the selfish to the sacrificial 
life of love. 

"Wherever a body of believers try to do all things 
— not simply what the world calls religious activities 
— to the glory of God, all these things (which the 
Father knows we need) are added unto us. Our citi- 
zens have determined to believe the Father when he 
says: 'I am the Lord thy God, which teachest thee 
to profit, which leadest thee by the way that thou 
ehouldst go/ 

"And so we 'seek not our own profit/ as those who 
engage in the industrial warfare, but rather do we seek 
by co-operation 'the profit of many/ 

"As to the important matter of dress, we find 
that the men and women who have been saturated 
by worldly ideas and customs are so dwarfed in 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 205 

mind and body that our first work must be to break 
the bars of their yokes. They are therefore required 
to pass one year as novitiates., in which they must 
dress in simple, light clothing, which leaves the body 
perfectly free. They must eat nourishing food at 
proper intervals and order their whole life so as to 
make possible the highest physical and mental de- 
velopment. This frees, them from the thraldom of 
unnatural habits and false ideals; and at the end of the 
year, if they still are sincere in their wish to be one 
of us, they are left entirely to the guidance of the 
Spirit of Life in their eating, drinking and dressing. 

"And you would be surprised to see how free our 
women are from all anxious thought about clothes. 
Our consecrated artists can relieve them of worry, 
for their taste supplies any want in such matters, 
and, as all the clothing is made by those best adapted 
to such work, the majority are entirely free from the 
burden of providing individually for the covering of 
the body. 

"We do not make any material that is shabby or 
uselessly handsome. But we do make thoroughly 
good material of great variety, so that we may be 
dressed fittingly for our work and recreation. 

"And the principles of health and beauty are 



206 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

respected, while pretentions adornment is relegated 
to the vulgar self-seekers. 

"You would te amazed to see the change in one 
short year from nervous, awkward, meager life to 
rounded, erect figures, well poised and full of grace, 
capable of twice the work of the former apology for 
man or woman. 

"But they say objective teaching is the most im- 
pressive, so Fll let you learn as to such matters by 
means of your eyes; and now let's start for home, for 
if I am tired you certainly must be. Suppose we 
take a spin on these wheels." 

We were close by the bicycle stand, at. the foot of 
the boulevard, and, picking out two unchecked 
wheels, we mounted and were off. . 

As we rode slowly around our home circle Barrett 
made the remark that so many of our visitors make, 
saying: "It must be quite an expense to the society 
to maintain those grand evening , concerts, as they 
charge no admission. How do you manage it?" 

. "Old boy," I exclaimed, "when will you learn 
that this is not a money-making concern? What 
good would money do people who have all, abso- 
lutely all -that they need? . This is a concern which, 
aims at the making of men and women, and we be- 



THE PC RE CAUSEWAY 207 

lieve that godliness is profitable to all men, and is 
the only real profit in the Universe. 

"Even Paul saw the mockery of the atheistic com- 
mercialism of the world and hit trie nail on the head 
when he said: 

" "The love of money is the root of all kinds of 
evil (in speaking of the church this was said) which 
some reaching after have been led astray from the 
faith, and have pierced themselves through with 
many sorrows. But thou, man of God, flee these 
things and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, 
love, patience, meekness/ 

"So then we are fighting the good fight of faith, 
instead of fighting each other, and the result is that 
our communion is able to produce, under proper con- 
ditions, all we need for our support; and enough time 
remains to turn our attention to the development of. 
the aesthetic side of man's nature. 
- "Those who have the gift of song are more than 
repaid by the opportunity to use it for others' as 
well as their own enjoyment . . . 

"Everything we are, as well as everything we 
have, is for the benefit of all." 

"Is that why the wheels were at our disposal?" 

"Certainly. The common life produces the com- 
mon wealth, which is for all. Those wheels you 



208 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

noticed that were checked had been ridden to the 
place and were to be returned by the riders to the 
starting point. The checking simply means indi- 
vidual responsibility, not ownership. And here we 
are at home again. You had better turn in as soon 
as possible, for you look thoroughly tired out. 
Wouldn't you prefer to sleep late in the morning?" 

"That depends upon what I would miss by so 
doing/' Barrett replied. "I must be back home by 
Friday and so want to redeem the time." 

"Well, I wouldn't have you miss our Sabbath 
morning gathering for anything. But that necessi- 
tates breakfast at half-past six, as we meet at seven, 
so you'd better hurry right to bed. No; don't ask 
any questions. Wait and see." 

So saying, in spite of his protestations against 
such early rising, I inarched him off to bed and left 
him to his own conjectures. 

His opinion as to our Sabbath of rest is best told 
by himself in a letter written to his mother. After 
recounting his experiences in coming among us, he 
goes on to say: 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 209 

"You know my procrastinating tendencies and so 
will not wonder that I did not arise immediately on 
being called. While lying in a deliciously dozy state 
I was suddenly aroused by an inspiring blast of 
sweet-toned trumpets. 

"Bounding from bed, I dressed hastily and hur- 
ried out into the sitting room, but, finding it empty, 
I sprang out across the piazza and down the steps, 
hoping to catch my friends somewhere, when Mar- 
tin's cheery voice caused me to turn. 'Hey, there !' 
he called. 'We're going, too. Won't you wait for 
us?' and as I turned back to the end of the piazza, 
where he was sitting, he assured me that there was 
still time enough for me to eat the breakfast awaiting 
me in the sitting room. 

" 'Oh, so you breakfast at home, do you?' I asked. 
'No, indeed, sir,' came the quick reply. 'We enjoy 
our social meals at the hall too much to lose one un- 
necessarily. But we serve only two meals a day there, 
one at eleven and one at six.' 'So!' I exclaimed. 
'So you are on the monastic order, after all!' I was 
ashamed the moment the words were spoken, and, 
with that wonderful dignity and earnestness that lies 
beneath all their fun here, Wentworth explained that, 
as they were trying in every way to serve the Creator 
instead of the creature, and as the majority of the 



210 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

believers had come to the conclusion that God had 
built our bodies so as to do their best work on two 
meals a day, they accordingly planned for only two 
meals to be served by the commonwealth. 

"If, however, individual members should feel that 
they could serve better on three meals, after having 
tried the plan of two a day for the novitiate year, 
they are at perfect liberty to provide the third one in 
their own homes. 

"And he says they have never had a case yet where 
a year on the two well-cooked, varied, hearty meals 
was followed by a return to the three! Of course in 
the case of visitors an early meal is supplied because 
of their previous habits. 

"But now I must tell you about the most beauti- 
ful and helpful service, or gathering (for here they 
call their whole life a service) I have ever attended. 

"At a second blast of the trumpets we all started 
out on foot, making a short cut by way of footpaths 
through the woods, between homes of such simplicity 
and comfort as I have never seen, till, after crossing 
two main boulevards and three circles, we came out 
on the Grand Boulevard not far from its eastern end. 
Hosts of people were passing onward toward the vast 
amphitheater, so that it resembled an impressive 
parade. As the foremost ones reached a group of 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 211 

men just outside of the opening to the seats, these 
men raised to their mouths the beautiful silver trum- 
pets I had heard twice before, and, sounding the 
opening strains of a hymn, the great processional 
joined in the grandest chorus I have ever heard, pass- 
ing quietly to their proper places, while others came 
following on. As we stood facing down the boule- 
vard, commanding a fine view of the approaching 
throng amid the majestic trees of the avenue, it 
seemed to me more inspiring than any sight on earth. 
The trumpeters lead the people, but, contrary to 
worldly churches, the people are led, and the whole 
congregation is the church choir! 

"How I wish you could hear these people sing! 
They are not only instinct with life and feeling, but 
they are trained in music. Instead of families rent- 
ing pews, and the usual result of exclusiveness and 
respect of persons, each member in this glorious city 
sits according to the part taken in the chorus, unless, 
of course, in case of children too young to carry a 
part. They generally, if not always, sit with their 
mothers. 

"I had been impressed with the costumes of my 
friends on first seeing them in the morning, and felt 
sure that they meant something more than mere Sun- 
day clothes; for, while of fine material, there was noth- 



212 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

ing dressy about them, and, as to color, Wentworth's 
was a pure soft, light brown, while Martin's and Hil- 
man's were of dark gray, exactly alike. When the 
congregation was assembled in place the effect of the 
whole was a beautiful symphony in color. These 
citizens believe in beauty, but not in individual dis- 
play; hence artistic souls have so planned the various 
sections as to produce a satisfactory blending of all 
of God's most beautiful colors. By this plan nothing 
distracts the thoughts, either in preparing for or while 
at the service, and yet the depressing influence of a 
uniform or costume is avoided. Hilman and Martin, 
being tenors, wore the same color, as all one section 
is a mass of pure color. 

"At the close of the processional the congregation 
knelt in silent prayer, and then followed a glorious 
hymn of praise, which was 'sung from a full heart 
fervently' and without hooks. 

"It was praise, worship and prayer all in one. 
Such singing has never been heard in the world. 
(You see, I've fallen into the Bible phraseology, as 
I cannot but see that in Christ's sense these people 
are not of the world.) 

"Then came a responsive exercise, the leader and 
congregation reciting alternate verses, beginning at 
the fifteenth chapter of St. John and ending at the 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 213 

seventeenth verse; and, Mother, coming as it did from 
doers of the word, it seemed like a new teaching alto- 
gether. 

"I wish, oh, how I wish I could give you some 
idea of how full and joyous life seems to me now! 
And how I long to take my part toward hastening 
the great deliverance from the kingdoms of the world 
into the Kingdom of Love. 

"Mother, at heart I am already one of these citi- 
zens; but I must return to you before joining them 
in order to persuade you all to join with me. How- 
ever, I cannot wait to see you, and so must try to 
give you some description of this beautiful day of 
rest. 

"You see, these citizens of the commonwealth are 
not worn out when Sunday comes, and so they are 
able by a change of activities to rest in the Lord 
alway. 

"Here you will not find a separate class of preach- 
ers, but those who have the gift of speech are called 
upon to present the thought of the day, and later it 
is taken up and discussed by all in open parliament. 

"The Bible is here studied in earnest, and the 
speaker this morning took it for granted that before 
the afternoon meeting the members would carefully 
re-read the entire book of Kevelation and come pre- 



214 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

pared to give an analysis of it. He then directed our 
attention to the thirteenth and fourteenth verses of 
the sixteenth chapter and read impressively the 
words: Tor I saw coming out of the mouth of the 
dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out 
of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean 
spirits, as it were frogs. For they are spirits of 
devils working signs; which go forth unto the kings 
of the whole world, to gather them together unto 
the war of the great day of God, the Almighty/ 

" 'Bearing in mind that it is the war of the Al- 
mighty, the unfailing one, what think you is the 
great day c e God" P he asked. 

The speaker then gave a brief outline of this most 
neglected book, showing it to be a dramatic represen- 
tation of the real 'War of the Worlds.' It is the 
greatest allegory of the world yet written. John, 
having purified his soul by obeying the truth, is shown 
by the Spirit that from the beginning of time there 
have been just two forces at work in this creation — 
one which tends toward deterioration, disintegration, 
death; the other making for development, com- 
munion, life. 

"The latter force being not simply (to quote 
Herbert Spencer) as primordial as the principle of 
self-interest, but existent from eternity. 






THE PURE CAUSEWAY 215 

"This is the meaning of 'the Lamb slain from 
the foundation of the world/ for self-sacrificing Love 
is the Cause, Sustainer and Peri ecter of all things. 

"St. John, because of having the single eye, 
sees into the hidden things of life and beholds the 
world-spirit, the great red Dragon, warring contin- 
ually- against the life-giving Spirit, which in time will 
deliver the whole creation from the kingdoms of this 
world into the Kingdom of Love. 

"In the book so fittingly named the Eevelation, 
John tries to show us pictorially that the history of 
the world is but 'one death grapple in the darkness 
'twixt old systems and the Word/ 

"In order to make this struggle between darkness 
and light patent to all people, John is not contented 
with one word picture, but resorts to varied symbols 
and many graphic pictures, all portraying the same 
thing. Therefore, failing to realize that he has told 
the same story in different ways, we are puzzled, tak- 
ing the entire book as one connected account. But, 
nevertheless, two facts stand out clearly all through 
the wonderful imager} 7 — he shows us clearly the 
domination of the Dragon over the sons of men, the 
Adams, who are of the earth earthy; and, on the other 
hand, we see Love calling men in every possible way 
to give up the self-life and be born from above into 



216 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

the eternal life. From time to time the heralds of a 
higher life have called men everywhere to repent of 
their selfishness and low ambitions; and these men 
and their followers are the prophets and martyrs of 
God. 

"But in spite of their testimony the mass of men 
say: 'What is the Almighty that we should serve him?' 
And because of their opposition to the law of the 
Universe they necessarily suffer one torment after 
another. 

"The first task set for the race is the subjection 
of the natural world, and we see man falling into the 
error of thinking that nature exists merely to minis- 
ter to his pleasure. Consequently he becomes en- 
slaved, worshiping as he does one ideal of pleasure 
after another. John pictures these ideals as beasts 
which reign over the world at different periods, and 
which man imagines will give all things into his hand. 
While flattering himself that he is conquering all 
things and subduing them unto himself, John shows 
us that man is really in thraldom to the Dragon, 
Selfishness. 

"But man, blind as yet to the realities of life, 
seeks some form of pleasure, at whatever cost it may 
be; and as a result 'the bowls of wrath' are poured out, 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 217 

not because of the wrath of an arbitrary God, but 
because of the natural consequences of sin. 

"So John depicts the reign of the various beasts, 
whom he describes as appointing the kings who 
tyrannize over men. In the mad rush for power the 
nations submit to the rule of one ideal after another, 
and 'they are scorched with a great heat' and are 
even 'made to drink blood/ Yet the children of earth 
glory in their abject slavery, saying often to them- 
selves: 'Who is like unto the beast, and who is able 
to make war with him?' 

"All through the ages individuals here and there 
responding to the influence of love tried to call men 
everywhere to repent; but, though some good had 
been accomplished by prophets, it remained for a hody 
of believers to cope with some degree of power with 
the subjects of the Dragon. For a time this body 
gave promise of eventually overcoming the Dragon, 
as well as his emissaries, the beasts. 

"But, after seeming to be well-nigh invincible, this 
saintly body succumbed to the temptation which our 
Savior met and conquered — that of fighting the 
world-spirit with worldly weapons. Because of the 
blasphemy and power of the beast, the church of the 
living God 'changed their glory for that which did 



218 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

not profit' and it was given unto the world-spirit to 
make war with the saints and to overcome them. 

"Since the time of Constantine, the church as an 
organization has lost its original power, and, as John 
foresees, one plague after another smites the sons of 
men because of their refusal to obey the law of life. 
Light has been sent us from time to time shining 
through individuals and showing us the way of es- 
cape from the plagues. But because of the price it 
costs, and the intrenched selfishness of man, John 
writes the telling clause, 'They repent not of their 
works/ and 'Men gnaw their tongues for pain, and 
they blaspheme the God of heaven because of their 
pains and their sores/ 

"God has been trying to teach us that we are 
members one of another; and the children of God see 
clearly that for any soul to desire an individual sal- 
vation while the mass of men are in torment would 
be the epitome of sin, which is selfishness. 

"Therefore the seers, whether recognized by the 
church or not, have been voices in this wilderness, 
calling men everywhere to repent and unite to do 
God's will. 

"No matter how long it takes for the self-willed, 
blinded sons of men to learn the lesson, God will yet 
teach the world that He came here in the flesh, 'not 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 219 

to condemn the world, but that the world might be 
saved f and He 'who willeth that all men should be 
saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth/ is 
showing us as fast as we are able to learn it that a 
social salvation is the object of his redemption. Way 
back in the days of Israel God warned them that it 
was not enough for a few souls here and there to 
serve him. Israel as a nation, a body of believers, 
must obey the law, founded as it was in Love, or the 
result would be oppression and torment for the mass 
of men. In this day, when the weary producers of 
the wealth of the world have barely enough for mere 
existence, we can appreciate the warning as to what 
would be the result of mere spasmodic and individual- 
istic efforts to conquer the evil of the world; for, after 
nineteen centuries, we see the triumph of the Dragon 
to such an extent that millions in our so-called Chris- 
tion land are reduced to a slavery that beggars de- 
scription. 

"When will the world wake up to the fact that 
individuals are truly born of the Sacrificial Spirit 
only when they associate themselves in realizing the 
kingdom of heaven on earth? 

"John has written this wonderful book, it seems 
to me, chieflv to lead us to believe that it is only the 



220 THE P URE CA USE WA Y 

saints, as he calls them, or social saviors, as we might 
express the thought, who shall overcome the evil. 

"As John shows us the various epochs of the 
world, we are finally brought to look upon a condi- 
tion of things which bears a strange resemblance 
to the present day. This wonderful disciple, who 
learned obedience by the things which he suffered, 
was able, because of being in close touch with the 
Light of the World, to see what would be the climax 
of the awful struggle between self and God, or, as 
John words it, between the Dragon and the Lamb. 

"He shows us that, because of a great material- 
istic civilization, aptly named Babylon, all obstacles 
to intercourse, such as rivers, seas and mountains, are 
overcome, and he shows us also that this ease of com- 
munication enables 'the unclean spirits * * * 
to go forth unto the kings of the whole world to 
gather them together unto the war of the great day 
of God, the Almighty/ 

"As he predicts it, we find that in the present day 
time and space are virtually obliterated by modern in- 
ventions, the ancient walls separating the nations are 
being broken down by conquest and commercialism, 
and the forces of evil, as well as the redemptive ones, 
are gathering for the great battle of the Lord, which 
must come before He can be Lord of all. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 221 

"Let us pause a moment to appreciate John's mar- 
velous apprehension of the present crisis. Formerly 
he has described the conquerors of the race, those who 
lead the forces against the Lord and keep men in 
thraldom, as warriors of various types, some appear- 
ing like scorpions, or war horses with faces of men 
and hair like women; others of different aspect. 

"But when he describes this present age, when 
because of oppression, he says, 'the sun seems dark- 
ened and the moon as blood/ in which men 'can rest 
neither day nor night, for the smoke of their torment 
goeth up unto ages of ages/ and when only 'those are 
able to buy and sell who have the mark of the beast/ 
we are shown that those who are in power, instead 
of beings warriors or kings, are the merchants of the 
earth ! 

"The instrument of oppression is no longer a 
sword. A better way has been found to rule men, 
and everywhere we see slavery, impotence and tor- 
ment as the result of the reign of the last beast. 

"The commercial, profit-making spirit reduces 
the world to subjection and many to-day realize that 
with this sorcery are all the nations of the earth de- 
ceived. 

"Three agents are marshaling the forces of the 
last great struggle, which shall terminate in the com- 



222 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

plete victory of the Lamb — the great red Dragon of 
Selfishness, the beast Commercialism and the false 
prophet which smiles when men try to reconcile the 
six days' warfare of the competitive system with the 
seventh day worship of the Lamb; and each in his way 
is bewitching mankind. 

"John sees the real nature of this great civiliza- 
tion which puts a premium on hypocrisy and deceit. 
He dubs it 'Babylon, the Great, the Mother of Har- 
lots and of the Abominations of Earth/ because he 
apprehends the unfaithfulness which must result 
from any attempt to reconcile wholesale fratricide 
with filial obedience. In business, men are not recon- 
ciled to their brothers; yet they are continually offer- 
ing gifts at the altar of the Lord. Gifts of charity, 
endowments of colleges, hospital, etc., are beside the 
mark, as long as common sons of a common Father 
bite and devour each other in the industrial world. ^ 

"Self-seeking is the foundation stone of com- 
mercialism, and everywhere men are ordering their 
earthly affairs according to the policies of the Dragon, 
while protesting loudly that they believe in the Lamb. 
An adulterous generation, a generation of vipers in 
very truth, must it be which can persist in the sins of 
the Pharisees after centuries of light. 

"The soul-destroying spirit of gain, resulting in 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 223 

the enthronement of the last beast, is producing the 
most widespread and intolerable tyranny the world 
has yet known. 

"It is not enough that the civilized world, so- 
called, should be the scene of the daily struggle for 
life, but through conquest, and the opening up of the 
eastern markets, all races will soon be reduced to the 
unending strife of our present industrial system. 

"We are warned in the Eevelation of St. John 
that Babylon, the harlot, gorgeously appareled, to be 
sure, but none the less hideous for that, will hold 
sway over all the world, for 'the waters which thou 
sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples and mul- 
titudes and nations and tongues/ and 'the merchants/ 
we are told, 'wax rich because of the power of her 
wantonness (or luxury)/ 

"The wonderful delineation of the last great op- 
pression is strangely like our modern life. We read, 
among other articles of merchandise which these in- 
dustrial princes control, that they also deal in 'the 
todies and souls of menP That does not sound ex- 
travagant to one who knows the faithless and almost 
hopeless condition of many of our wage slaves. 

"It but remains for the present tendency to con- 
tinue a few more decades and souls will, in very truth, 
be hurled heedlessly into the hell of anguish. 



224: THE PURE CAUSEWAY 



4 



"It is a common occurrence to-day for the cap- 
tains of industry to take the stand that Labor has 
no right to put a price on its own work. And when 
men rebel at such tyranny, churchmen and world- 
lings join in the cry of 'Anarchy!' and go on in their 
noble work of grinding the faces of the poor. 

"If the Bevelation ended here we might well 
despair; but, thanks be to God, who giveth us the 
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, the future is 
bright with the promise of harmony and peace. 

"John, like the prophets of o'd, predicts the reve- 
lation of a power which shall convert the warring ele- 
ments into subjects of the faithful One who loves us 
unto the end. He sees once more a united effort of 
those who believe in Jesus and strive to walk even as 
he walked, ceasing from strife and in love serving one 
another. 

"It is no wonder that men and women to-day 
shrink from the title of saint! Yet as Paul and 
others of his inspiration understood it, we are not 
only called to be Christ's, but called to be saints. 

"Deep down in the soul of every son of Adam 
who is living by strife is the consciousness of faith- 
lessness. Thank God that wc are of too noble a 
lineage to be satisfied with a pretense of religion! 
We are gradually realizing that those who shrink 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 225 

from a life of perfect self-sacrifice, and continue the 
suicidal and fratricidal methods of our present indus- 
trial system because they dare not surfer the loss of all 
things for Christ, have as truly sold him for money 
as did Judas of old. 

"And a religious organization which hesitates to 
reveal the sacrificial life of Love in every activity of 
life is not worthy to be called by the name of Christ. 

"The Spirit of Life has tried to convince men of 
the fact that the 'kingdom of God is not in word but 
in power/ and to lead men to a vital belief that those 
who preach the gospel should live by the gospel, or, 
as modern thought might express it, those who preach 
that Christ came to reveal a new order of society 
should live according to its principles. 

"But it is so easy to yield to the sorcery of com- 
mercialism, to make compromises with sin, that we 
can understand the position of the early Christian 
church when it succumbed to the standards of the 
Roman world. Ever since the Common Life was 
overcome by the beast, the dark ages have held sway, 
and men have sought escape from the bondage of sin, 
the tyranny of self, in every possible way except the 
4 way of holiness/ No wonder Paul exclaimed: 'How* 
shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation V The 
pagan idea of substitution is accountable for much of 



226 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

our confusion of thought as to what salvation really 
is. We deprive the greatest event in the world of its 
saving power if we think of our Savior's life and death 
as a substitute for ours. He said emphatically: M 
am the way/ Yet the church of God has practically 
been teaching by its life that we need not walk in the 
way in order to be followers of the Master; and as a 
result, Mammon gets the lion's share of worship and 
God is crowded into the nooks and corners. We are 
mere earth-worms so long as we refuse to be born 
into the realm of Love by the influence of the Sac- 
rificial Spirit. If we could imagine a clod of earth 
professing faith in the beauty and power of the veg- 
etable world, yet persistently refusing to allow the life 
of that world to lay hold of its elements and convert 
them into the realm of the life above, it would be 
analagous to what we see in human life — millions pro- 
fessing faith in Christ, yet refusing to be converted 
by him into a life of power and beauty. 

"John had faith enough to believe that some day 
the despairing martyrs, struggling against the beast, 
would finally unite in his overthrow instead of bat- 
tling individually, as heretofore. He therefore pic- 
tures a new birth of an old movement, and the saints 
of God appear again on the scene. This time they 
strengthen each other so nobly, they are so led of the 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY .227 

Spirit, that they obey the head in all things. They 
hear and obey the call, 'Come forth, my people, out of 
her (Babylon), that ye have no fellowship with her 
sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.' 

"They repudiate the policy of continuing in sin 
that grace may abound, and found their whole asso- 
ciated life on the Eock Christ Jesus. Seven hundred 
years before John, Isaiah apprehended the necessity 
of a Servant who serves and redeems the world by 
revealing the glory of God to the Gentiles, and he 
grasped the truth that this Anointed One must be a 
body of believers. 

"These, then — the called, the chosen and the faith- 
ful, the first-born among many brethren — are the 
saints who shall overcome because of the blood of the 
Lamb. 

"0 my brothers, while we rejoice with joy un- 
speakable that we have heard this cry and have ceased 
from continuing in sin, let us pray unceasingly that 
we may not be led away and enticed, like the early 
church. There is no one in our city who has not 
suffered persecution because of the word, but that is 
as nothing compared to the great tribulation which is 
coming. Not easily will the Dragon be overcome. 
She who rules the world bv her sorceries, the harlot 



228 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

Babylon, is saying even now: 'I sit a queen and am 
no widow, and shall in no wise see mourning.' 

"The great cataclysm depicted by John, in which 
'lightnings, and voices, and thunders, followed by a 
great earthquake, such as was not since there were 
men upon the earth/ is but another description of the 
great day of the Lord foretold by Christ: 'Such a 
tribulation as hath not been from the beginning of 
the world until now — no, nor ever shall be, will try 
men's souls and then will the end come.' 

"And I believe that it will be even as John fore- 
told; that after the revealing of the sons of God, the 
saints who live by the gospel, the whole creation shall 
enter upon the last great struggle, which is the great 
day of God, the Almighty. 

"Therefore ye who love not your lives even unto 
death, quit you like men, be strong; for not easily 
will the powers of darkness yield to the Light of men. 
As surely as the Common Life becomes a power, caus- 
ing division among men, as the Christ-life always 
does, there will be a sending forth of unclean spirits, 
as it ^vere frogs, to gather all those who have the mark 
t)f the beast, against those who prove by their fearless 
associated life that Babylon is doomed. But let us 
never forget that it is not to be the day of the Dragon, 
but the day of the Almighty; that somehow, some- 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 229 

where the chaff in men, the useless, faithless part, will 
be consumed, 'for this is good and acceptable in the 
sight of God our Savior, who willeth that all men 
should be saved and come to the knowledge of the 
truth.' 

"As the Light of life enters more and more into 
the darkened souls of men, as the children of the 
earth vield more and more to the Lamb of God, the 
wild struggle of modern life will be abandoned and 
we shall see the faithful city, the New Jerusalem, 
coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as 
a bride adorned for her husband. 

u O for the day when mankind will understand 
that religion is right relations — in a word, righteous- 
ness! 

"John did not conceive of it as a matter of senti- 
ment or emotion only, but rather as the application 
of the Love principle to every department of life; and 
he gives us a glimpse of social life, so harmonious, so 
peaceful as to be fittingly called the bride of the 
Prince of Peace. It is worthy of note that the gar- 
ment which she wears as the LamVs wife is of fine 
linen, symbolizing the righteous acts of the saints. 

"The social, communal sins of the world are sepa- 
rating it from God— must needs separate till men wel- 
come Him as Lord of the business and social life 



230 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

"Then, and not till then, will be realized the vis- 
ion of the saint, in which he hears a voice saying: 
'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with men, and 
he shall tabernacle with them, and they shall be hie 
peoples, and God himself shall be with them. And 
he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and 
death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourn- 
ing, nor crying, nor pain any more; the first things 
are passed away/ And he that sitteth on the throne 
said: 'Behold, I make all things new/ 

"Therefore, for the hope that is set before us, let 
us, like our Master, endure the cross, despising the 
shame, till mankind attains 'unto the unity of the 
faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a 
full-grown man, unto the measure of the stature of 
the fullness of Christ/ 

"Before the closing words were spoken the whole 
congregation was bowed in prayer, and for some time 
nothing but the whispering leaves broke the stillness. 
Then a strain of sweetest music rang out, as the first 
and second sopranos began a grand Te Deum, the 
words of which are found in the fifth chapter of 
Revelation, at the thirteenth and fourteenth verses. 
The recitative, bringing out the idea of the final 
adoration of the whole creation, was rendered by the 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 231 

tenors; and then came the full, grand chorrs at the 
end, which was overwhelming. 

"The benediction was a blessing indeed, so differ- 
ent from the usual stereotyped form: 

" 'The Lord make you to increase and abound in 
love one toward another, and toward all men, that 
he may stablish your hearts unblamable in holiness 
before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord 
Jesus with all his saints. 5 

"You may be sure, dearest mother, that no one 
went away from that meeting chatting lightly and 
asking each other how they 'enjoyed the sermon.' 

"I have written at such length in order to keep 
the substance of the sermon in black and white; but I 
hope you are not tired out with this wordy epistle 
and for your sake 111 leave the description of the rest 
of the Sabbath till we meet face to face. Till then 
pray with me that our whole family may desire to do 
all that we can toward the 'revealing of the sons of 
God.' From your loving son, 

"Alan H. Barrett." 



After the meeting described bv Barrett, which 



232 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

lasted only an hour, we gathered in our various din- 
ing-halls for what the world would call a Sunday 
school. The brisk walk from the amphitheater 
helped us to enter into the study with zest and no 
time was lost in assembling, for we are all eager for 
the work before us. 

A few points of contrast between our meeting 
for Bible study and the worldly way may be of in- 
terest. 

We are all so interested in that history which lies 
at the foundation of our life here that we do not have 
to bribe the children in order to get them to attend 
our schools and study the word; neither do we have 
perfunctory teaching. 

Among the younger children there are leaders or 
guides, who, because of their work in the higher 
grades, have proved their fitness to inspire and guide 
the little ones. 

In the older classes each one is expected to take 
turns at being the leader or conductor of the lessson 
hour. The Bible is the only book seen in the room, 
though papers- and pencils are in evidence, being 
found an aid in many ways. The work is all graded 
and we are all there for work. 

We do not need hymn books, as all know the 
words and hymns. A few choice hymns are selected 



THE PURE C Ah SEW AY 233 

each month for the following one and before the 
time comes they are known by heart through home 
use. 

We spend one hour in close application to the 
subject of the lesson, and then, uniting in the Lord's 
prayer, separate till eleven o'clock. Many prefer to 
spend the time on the lake or near it, while some re- 
turn home, or gather under the trees enjoying the 
happy friendships of our life. 

The dinner, or breakfast, properly speaking, being 
at eleven, as usual, leaves plenty of time for the en- 
joyment of home life before the meeting at half -past 
four in the afternoon. 

No one ever misses that meeting, or, for that mat- 
ter, any meeting, if it is possible to avoid it. But 
this frank and fearless discussion of God's word is 
one of our most inspiring influences and it is always 
treated practically in the light of our present prob- 
lems. 

After our supper at the hall Alan and I were 
sitting alone under the pines near the pavilion, talk- 
ing over the thoughts of the day, when I said: "You 
certainly are a funny boy, Alan; for, although when 
among people you seem in your element, because of 
your wonderful social gifts, yet you are apparently 



234 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

perfectly happy when alone. Are yon really as inde- 
pendent of social life as you seem?" 

He thought a moment and then replied: "I think 
I never have needed people the way most folks seem 
to; yet many interest me deeply. For instance," and 
the dear, charming smile that I had learned to watch 
for, lit up his changeful face, "I am wonderfully in- 
terested in all your college classmates, and yet have 
met only a few. Is Elizabeth among us at present? 
I would so much enjoy seeing her." 

"Yes, and suppose we spend the evening at her 
home?" 

So we were soon well on the way toward the plaza 
near the lake, and, passing on around the southern 
shore, we struck into a road which ascends gradually 
and terminates at a bluff, on the top of which stands 
Elizabeth's home, commanding a fine view of the lake 
and city. 

We came up just in time to see the end of a frolic 
between Elizabeth, Don and the two little children; 
and as we stepped onto the low, wide piazza, Elizabeth 
came forward to greet us, looking sweeter than ever 
with the happy love-light in her dark gray eyes, her 
cheeks flushed with the exercise and her soft, rich 
chestnut hair partly loosened, so that it threw every 
beauty in her face into fine relief. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 235 

1 was very glad, for I wanted Alan to see her at 
her best, for I love her more than all else in the world. 
And, lest any reading these pages might wonder how 
I could be at peace under such circumstances, let me 
say that when one is truly alive unto Christ, our com- 
fort also aboundeth through Christ, and in all these 
things we are more than conquerors. 

'The natural man receiveth not the things of the 
Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him;" 
but one only has to taste and see that the Lord is 
good. 

After awhile Elizabeth left us to put the little 
ones to bed, and Don suggested that we stroll to the 
top of the hill back of the house, so that Barrett 
might see the city from a new point of view. 

We w r ere some distance around the southern shore 
of the lake and on a slight promontory, so that we 
looked acrosss the water to the center of the city. 
Eising above the Building of the Cross, because on 
higher ground, and somewhat to the north of it, w T e 
could see the light, graceful school building for the 
little ones, while equally distant from the amphi- 
theater toward the south we could catch a glimpse 
of the companion school building where the older 
children pursue their studies. 

The buildings, even at this distance, looked so 



236 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

different from the uninviting, ponderous school 
structures of the world that Barrett was impressed 
immediately and, turning to Don, said: "I can easily 
see that your ideas as to education are unique, for 
such buildings suggest all sorts of good things. 
Won't you tell me something about your school sys- 
tem?" 

"No, indeed," laughed Don; "I'd only mangle the 
subject. Wait till we reach heme, and Elizabeth will 
tell you more in ten minutes than I could in an hour. 
You see, she serves in the kindergarten herself, as we 
believe that mothers, if prepared by thorough study, 
are the best guides to the little ones." 

Barrett listened in amazement, saying: "How de- 
lightful! But what becomes of her own little tots 
while she is there?" 

Whereat Don threw his head back, laughing 
heartily and saying: "Poor boy! How hampered you 
are by the world's artificial methods! 

"The kindergartens in the commercial system are 
one of the few attempts at natural, wholesome life, 
but they are so caught in the toils of the world that 
they cannot go far. 

"With us we make everything subservient to the 
development of our children from babyhood up, 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 237 

knowing full well that whatsoever a community 
soweth that shall it also reap. 

"We feel that the mother-heart, purified from nar- 
row home prejudices and trained in methods, is the 
most fitting guide for our little ones, and also that 
even babies are susceptible to the influences of happy, 
sunny associated life. 

"Consequently, at the same hour that older mem- 
bers repair to their various spheres of activity and 
education, you will see our mothers and their children 
wending their way to our kindergarten, which is vir- 
tually a large, co-operative garden for the cultiva- 
tion of our human flowers. 

"But don't imagine that the tiny ones are school 
children in the old sense. They simply enjoy more 
privileges of full life than would be possible in their 
individual homes. 

"As a result, our mothers include in their warm 
personal love the children of our whole common- 
wealth, and are at the same time freed from narrow 
views of their own children's faults and virtues. Of 
course the session lasts only till eleven; but the little 
ones apprehend more of the principles of true, fear- 
less, ideal life in one week than would be possible in 
a year of worldly schooling. But Elizabeth will in- 
troduce you to the merry, earnest life, and if you 



238 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

don't fall in love with womanhood and childhood be- 
fore she has finished with you, you are not the man I 
take you for. 

"But do you see that large, white building nes- 
tling among the trees directly across the lake from 
us? No, not in the city, but due north. There, 
that's it — the one with the Corinthian columns. 

"That is the seat of our higher education. When 
you enter it you will think it a free library, and so it 
is, but is also our college. We believe that, under our 
system, boys and girls will be better fitted to select 
and pursue their own course of study when they have 
passed from the higher grades of our school than 
men ordinarily are at twenty-five. 

"As yet, of course, only those who were well along 
in years when they came to us, are using this privi- 
lege of independent study, as it will be some years 
before our little ones are ready." 

"But don't these students lose much in not at- 
tending lectures and recitations ?" 

"Not so fast, my friend," said Don; "who said they 
didn't attend lectures? Our best thinkers and stu- 
dents are devoting their entire public service to the 
delivering of the products of their research and study 
to all who need their help, here as well as in the 
world at large. Every evening, in one or more of our 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 239 

gathering places, lectures are given by our most taU 
ented men and women, after which we generally have 
a free parliament for the discussion of the subject in 
hand. This we feel sure more than supplies the 
place of perfunctory recitations. But Elizabeth must 
be waiting for us. Let's have a race to the house." 

And off we went like three schoolboys, Don reach- 
ing the goal first, blessed as he is with an unusually 
magnificent physique, even for our healthy race of 
men. 

As we bounded onto the piazza, Elizabeth wel- 
comed the victor with childlike glee, and I thought, 
as I often do, how vouthful those are who take God 
at his word and are anxious for nothing. 

We had hardly settled ourselves when I saw, by 
the flush and light in Alan's face, that something 
pleasant was happening, and, following the direction 
of his eyes, I saw approaching a graceful figure, clad 
in white and green, who on a nearer view proved to 
be Louise. 

All through the evening I could not but watch 
and wonder if these two were to find their highest de- 
velopment in each other. In our life, where it is 
impossible to marry for position, money or any other 
worldly ambition, and our first object is to do God's 
will in all things, we believe that none should marry 



240 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

save as they are persuaded that in so doing they may 
serve humanity more perfectly than would otherwise 
be possible. 

So that, though all are perfectly free in the choice 
of helpmeets, our commonwealth insists on a period 
during which each may be fully persuaded in his own 
mind that entering upon the most sacred relationship 
of life would make for the good of all. 

As we sat chatting on a variety of subjects the 
impression grew upon me that Louise, in her brilliant 
intellectual life and with her vivacious temperament, 
would be a fine complement to Alan's more intro- 
spective and poetic one. 

But time alone can tell. 

Possibly his independence of society will make 
it possible for him to be in the thick of the fight, 
bearing the name of Christ before the world, un- 
hampered by responsibilities at home 

I often feel that, endowed as he is with the imag- 
ination and power of a poet, he will prove to be an 
eloquent speaker, convincing the burdened and 
blinded sons of men of the beauty of holiness pos- 
sible to the sons of God. 

We separated at an early hour, believing as we do 
that a perfectly healthy body is necessary to the "ut- 
most service"; so that, when the trumpets sounded 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 241 

the next morning Alan was ready with the rest of us 
for the assembly of the saints. 

Don't imagine that we are required to gather 
every day. We simply wouldn't miss the inspiration 
that comes from the public service of song. 

On week days it is held at half -past six, and, last- 
ing only ten minutes, we have plenty of time to reach 
our posts of service by seven o'clock. 

Barrett had expressed a desire to see all the ac- 
tivities of our city life, so he went with me to my 
present occupation in the paper factory. 

After watching me for awhile, busy at the work 
of an unskilled laborer, he said: "I can't help but feel 
that that is a foolish waste of talents. You are fitted 
for higher work than that." 

"But," I argued, "it is necessary work, even though 
uninteresting, and some one would have to do it if I 
did not. We do not believe that any one should be 
obliged to spend all of his time in such work, so we all 
take turns, thereby preventing any possibility of pride 
of caste." 

"But isn't the community made poorer when one 
who could do good work in a special line does what 
unskilled labor might do?" 

"That would be an argument in the world, where 
only a small fraction ever have a chance to develop 



242 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

a specialty. But in our life, where fear of starvation 
is unknown, where domination is impossible, where 
men, women and children have time enough and 
every incentive to develop the talents which our 
Father gives to every soul, each one is a skilled laborer 
or specialist, and so we each take turns in bearing 
the burden of disagreeable work, and honor each 
other in the doing of it. No one person has to give 
much time out of the year to such employment and 
we resume our specialties with added interest, in- 
creased knowledge, and sympathies which rmake for 
righteousness." 

"May I ask, then, what your specialty is?" 

"Until a year ago I was occupied at the publish- 
ing house, but latterly I have been greatly relieved 
in that direction in order to give my time to some 
other literary work. Pm sure you will find the ac- 
tivities at the Building of the Cross, where all such 
interests center, mast attractive, and so we'll keep 
that for the last. Wentworth told me that he could 
show you around to-day and so Til deliver you into his 
hands for the rest of the time." 

"All right, Martin," he replied, "but Fm very 
eager to look into the school work. Couldn't that 
come pretty soon?" 

"My object in letting you see the business activi- 






THE PURE CAUSEWAY .343 

ties first/' I explained, is that you might be sure to 
see, before leaving us, how heartily men and women, 
released from the degrading system of commercialism, 
respond to an atmosphere of faith, hope and love. If 
these can work from other motives than self-interest, 
surely our children, born and bred in love, and be- 
lieving in the dignity of all useful work, will take 
their part in bearing one another's burdens/' 

"I submit to your plan," said Alan, and off he 
started toward the building near us, where he found 
Wentworth, gay as ever in the midst of leather work. 
He was relieved from his duties by his apprentice, 
whose work at school was over for the day. So he 
and Alan spent a delightful morning visiting the 
various places of work, where men and women fel- 
lowship with each other, and their Father, in pro- 
ductive activities, under conditions that develop 
rather than dwarf the whole being. 

Barrett exclaimed at the airiness, roominess and 
general attractiveness of our workshops, ignorant, as 
most worldlings are, of the fact that it is only the 
insane and selfish desire to make a money-profit 
from the daily activities that reduces work to its 
present unprofitable conditions. 

Where profit-grinding is the summum bonum of 
existence, competition, as it exists in the lower world 



244 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

to-day, is absolutely necessary, the result being, as we 
see, unending struggle and a bare existence for the 
mass of men. 

But where character is the object of associated life, 
men find that work can be conducted so as to make 
the development of the whole man possible. 

When we met at the eleven o'clock meal Alan was 
brimming over with enthusiasm and declared that he 
was already longing to take his place among the 
servants of the race, who are on earth cs Christ said 
he was, "as one who eerv^es." 

"A text that I saw over the entrance of the shoe 
factory struck me more forcibly than it ever has be- 
fore. You know it, of course — 'My father worketh 
even until now, and I work. Never before has the 
whole of life impressed me as being divine/' This 
from Alan. 

"Probably because, while it is ordered on the prin- 
ciple of war, it smacks more of the devil/' I replied. 
"You doubtless observed the words over the door of 
the clothing house, 'Love worketh no ill to his neigh- 
bor'? Could you imagine those words over the door 
of a sweater's den, where the conditions are such as 
to menace the physical, mental and moral life of those 
who spend their days there? 

"The diseases rampant in these dens, work con- 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 245 

siderable ill to the public that buys the garments, to 
say nothing of the poor, diseased victims themselves." 

"Yes, indeed. After seeing the contrast between 
the conditions under which these citizens work and 
those poor slaves of the competitive system, I long 
to give the world the message of Isaiah: ' Wherefore 
do ye spend money for that which is not bread and 
your labor for that which satisfieth not? If ye be 
willing and obedient ye shall eat the good of the 
land.' " 

During the next two days Barrett was occupied in 
visiting our dairy, bakery, farms and factories, and 
was more and more impressed with the ease with 
which the work is done, as well as the truly educa- 
tional effect on the workers. 

Tuesday evening, as we were stretched out on 
the grass in the woods near our house, our dainty 
little table maid, Leta, joined us, bringing gayety 
with her. Very soon, however, spying a boon com- 
panion on her way home, she dashed off, making it 
seem quite dull because of her departure. In a few 
moments Alan touched on the matter over which he 
had evidently been puzzling. 

"I can't help but feel that she ought to be engaged 
in better work than that of waiting on our table. 
Surely at her age, and especially with such apparent 



246 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

gifts, she ought to be giving her whole time to de- 
veloping all her powers." 

"Certainly. But what better way would you sug- 
gest than that she should spend some time each day 
serving others? 

"Of course she is pursuing her studies and is one 
of our most promising scholars. That, however, does 
not prevent her from giving a short time twice a day 
to social service. Tin afraid we do not appreciate 
as we should the educational value of all such work. 
Surely if the Master could develop so grandly 
through thirty years of service in a carpenter's shop, 
we cannot go far astray if we each share the burden of 
useful work. 

"And if, as in his case, the call comes to go forth 
into more public though not more noble work, do 
you not think that we, like him, will be all the better 
fitted for the task because of the development of 
character due to just such a training? 

"You must have realized by this time that we 
have in our fellowship no menials, or, as the world 
calls them, servants. But neither do we have any 
one here who is not serving the brotherhood in some 
practical way. 

"To prevent limitation or fatigue we arrange for 
a rotation of work, unless some seem pre-eminently 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 247 

fitted for one special service, I am speaking only in 
reference to that which the world usually calls 
drudgery." 

"But/' queried Alan, "what about the feeble or 
sick ones ?" 

"You speak as if you had seen some such among 
us. Have you?" 

Looking up very much surprised, he admitted 
that he had seen no one who even suggested weakness. 

"It is queer, isn't it," I asked, "that most people 
read the promises of God relating to physical and 
material benefits as if they were so much talk, as we 
say? 

"Yet the more we learn to obey the commands 
which have for their object a just and righteous so- 
cial life, the more we appreciate that our God keep- 
eth truth forever. 

"Of course when one comes to us from the world, 
bringing with him the physique which naturally re- 
sults from broken laws, it takes time to build him up 
into the man of power. 

"But we who see the gradual transformation from 
weakness and limitation to a joyous, abounding life 
can appreciate the claim of Jehovah, 'I have broken 
the bars of your yoke and made you go upright/ 

"I haven't a doubt that perfect sanitation, un- 



248 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

selfish living under the blessed influences of Mother 
Nature, and an earnest following on to know the Lord 
by all the saints will in time render disease an un- 
known quantity. 

"But we could chat elsewhere. Suppose we fin- 
ish our talk at the library? The moon is full and 
we can hear the music from the plaza across the 
water, so that it will be an ideal place to spend the 
evening." y 

As Barrett seemed delighted with the suggestion, 
we were soon wheeling westward beyond the last 
circle and out toward the northern shore of the lake. 

When we reached the silvery waters we both dis- 
mounted and strolled along the shore, enjoying the 
beauty of the scene to tliQ utmost. 

But the pure white building gleaming through 
the trees drew us onward and we were soon at the 
grand entrance. 

The first sight that claimed our attention on en- 
tering the main room were the words, beautifully in- 
scribed on the wall opposite us: "Cease from thine 
own wisdom * * * that ye may be filled with 
the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and 
understanding, to walk worthily of the Lord unto 
all pleasing, in every good work hearing fruit, and in- 
creasing in the knowledge of God, made powerful in 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 249 

all power according to the might of his glory unto all 
patience and long-suffering with joy/ " 

Barrett read the words slowly over and over again, 
evidently absorbed in thought; so I slipped away for 
awhile, judging that he could best enter into the 
spirit of the place when alone with the Spirit of Wis- 
dom. 

Some time later I found him sitting in the moon- 
light on one of the many balconies, having in his 
hand a copy of one of Prof. Davis' books. As I 
joined him he exclaimed: "How true it is, as this 
passage says, 'Natural goodness is not Christian good- 
ness, whatever else it may be/ for natural goodness 
never leads a man to renounce all that he has and is 
for the sake of the hateful, the unworthy and the un- 
grateful ones of the earth. 

"Of all the men and women in your sketch he in- 
terested me the most, although you said little about 
him personally. How I would like to meet him!" 

"One does not need to say much about a person 
who is really alive, for life always speaks for itself. 

"But it is a curious fact that our associated life 
cannot claim him as a member, for he cannot feel it 
right to do as we have done. 

"He feels that for him to join such a united effort 
would be to deny his faith in sacrifice, and that his 



250 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

place is in the thick of the fight, bearing away the 
guilt of the world. 

"But we feel that even Christ did not bear the sins 
of the world by becoming sinful. Neither did he re- 
move sickness by taking the disease into his own 
body. Eather say he bore our iniquity — though all 
must admit that our willfulness and sin pressed upon 
his heart of love as it has on no other — by showing 
us a better way than the old one of self-seeking. He 
revealed principles by his own self-abnegation, which 
when followed by hip professed disciples will bear 
away the sins and sorrows of the world. And so our 
citizens are trying to reveal these principles by co- 
operation, for we feel sure that honest toil with the 
hands is one of the necessary elements in man's de- 
velopment, and our object in uniting is to render 
honest and simple life possible to all, so that all may 
develop into manly men and womanly women. 

"Of course we appreciate the force of the criticism 
that until all can do likewise it appears selfish. But 
when no one is refused membership because of ig- 
norance or poverty, and when our whole life aims at 
the witnessing to our faith by eloquent preaching 
among all nations, as well as by upright living, I do 
not see the force of the accusation. 

"If the industrial co-operative societies of Eng- 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 251 

land, for instance, had never been formed because 
the workingmen, say in Italy, could not join them, 
think you the movement would be as far advanced 
to-day as it is? 

"It is by giving expression to their idea of co- 
operation that the cause receives adherents in other 
parts of the globe, and the formation of such societies 
anywhere hastens the day when they can be formed 
everywhere. Suppose, then, that the concept of co- 
partnership in all matters, burning in the hearts of 
men years before our life here was entered upon, had 
never found expression in outward life, do you think 
the progress toward the socialization of all life would 
be as advanced as it is to-day? 

"Our city is only one of many all over our broad 
land, and it was only a few years ago that not one 
existed. 

"And another thought had its weight with us, 
which was, that a common life is the only soil in 
which ennobling art or true science may develop. 
But, while we differ from our dear friend, we respect 
and love him intensely. There is no question that 
his motive is the purest possible, and that is the 
test of any action or position. And he, on his part, 
fellowships with us in a very true sense, although he 
feels obliged to live differently." 



252 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

"How was it at the time of your meeting in New 
York at Elizabeth's? Didn't the professor agree with 
this idea then?" 

"In the main, yes; though he told us frankly at 
the time that he was not fully persuaded in his own 
mind. And before the time had come for us to unite 
our forces he had come to his present conclusion. 
My own feeling in the matter is that few such souls 
are as pure as his, and in order to do their best work 
they must get out of the system that blinds the eyes, 
dwarfs the conceptions and undermines the courage. 
"Then, too, how can one who professes to be dead 
to sin live any longer therein? 

"When we are prepared by experience and study 
to witness intelligently to the faith that is in us we 
all go forth in various capacities to win the world to 
Love." 

"Well," replied Alan, "for my part I favor the 
idea of co-operation, for then the commonwealth finds 
expression in each individual and he also lives in 
it. When one man speaks to the world he carries the 
weight of the social life with him. Then we could 
actually say: 'We have seen and bear witness and de- 
clare unto you the life, the eternal life which was 
with the Father and was manifested unto us/ " 

"Yes; we all see it that way, of course, and we 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 253 

shall rejoice to count you as one of us. But what 
time do you suppose it is?" 

To our surprise we were apparently the last in our 
commonwealth to turn our steps homeward. 

And as we passed through the city, speaking as it 
did so forcibly of mutual helpfulness and trust, I 
could not but be confirmed in my belief that, as Hil- 
man so well expressed it years ago, "It is our high 
privilege to live right here and now, instead of spend- 
ing our days in a wild endeavor at getting ready to 
live in some distant sphere." 

On rising the next morning we found the rain 
coming down in torrents, and at the blast of the 
trumpets summoning us to worship Alan's face ex- 
pressed the question he did not voice. 

"Why, you see," said I, surmising his perplexity, 
"on days like this we gather in the central audience 
hall in the Building of the Cross. As we were 
planning to go through that building to-day, it 
couldn't have turned out better for our purpose." 

Boarding a car, we had a pleasant ride, in spite 
of the rain, catching glimpses of our objective point 
as we crossed the main boulevards in our diminishing 
circles. As we crossed the circular space around the 
building and approached the steps of the main en- 
trance we stopped to read the inscription above it, 



254 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

"Go ye into all the world and preach the good news to 
the whole creation * * * that the creation itself 
also shall be delivered from the bondage of corrup- 
tion into the liberty of the glory of the children of 
God." 

Such good news is indeed a gospel of hope, and 
we feel that by such thoughts, inscribed where we 
will often see them, our faith in the Omnipotent One 
will be renewed and our hands strengthened. 

In the audience hall the eye often rests on the 
words above the speaker's platform, "Far be it from 
me to glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, through which the world hath been crucified 
unto me, and I unto the world." 

After the short meeting was over we stayed awhile 
so that Alan might examine the various points of in- 
terest in this, our most beautiful assembly hall. 
Nothing in it is for mere display, but the workman- f 
ship on all the necessary parts is of so artistic a qual- 
ity as to be in itself a sermon. 

As we stood noting the beauties of the place Alan 
turned the conversation by asking me how it was 
that I could be free to give my day to him. 

"Why, you see," I replied, "we have a system of 
apprenticeship, which serves two purposes; it edu- 
cates our youth in some branch of productive work 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 255 

and at the same time makes possible a varied service 
for the adults, by releasing them as occasion requires 
from their daily work. 

"In our school system we aim at the cultivation 
of the hand as well as the head and heart; or, rather, 
we appreciate the head and heart culture which in- 
heres in that of the hand. 

"But after the child has passed beyond the school 
we expect that he or she will be ready to serve the 
commonwealth with some degree of ability in the 
shops, where each is guided in his work by one of the 
older citizens. To-day my apprentice is substituting 
for me so that I may serve you if possible." 

As we were conversing I led the way through an 
archway that connects the audience hall with one 
of the wings of the building, and for the rest of the 
morning we visited the various departments of our 
printing and publishing house, coming at last to the 
offices and bureaus, which occupy the angles of the 
building on the ground floor. These are so arranged 
as to make it possible for business to be transacted 
from the outside of the building, a portico of great 
architectural beauty in each of the four angles serving 
as a shelter in inclement weather. 

Of course each separate office is in communication 



256 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

with the ground floor of the interior, but as a rule 
all the business transactions occur in the open air. 

Here you will find the telephone office for local 
and general use, as well as the telegraph, express and 
post offices. 

Here, too, are rooms for the various committees 
of our commonwealth, one of which was to hold a 
meeting in the afternoon, at which we were both to 
be present. Alan had decided to confer with our 
advisory council, as he was determined to unite with 
us in our service of mankind. 

But that very afternoon a telegram telling of the 
serious illness of his mother called him home, and 
shortlv afterward we heard that she who would have 
sustained him in his new experiences had been called 
to wider activities beyond. 

There had been such close sympathy and deep 
love between them that it was a heavy blow to "our 
boy," as we of our cottage were already calling him. 

But that was not his only trial. The father, 
though an upright, God-fearing man, was so blinded 
by the ideals of commercialism that he could look 
upon Barrett's decision only as madness. 

Verily Alan could appreciate Paul's experience 
when he admitted that "We are fools for Christ's 
sake." 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 257 

The father and son could not understand each 
other, and the sister — well, as yet she is drawn in two 
directions because of her love for both. 

In such a case one learns to know what the 
Savior meant when he said: "He that loveth father 
or mother more than me is not worthy of me." 

Alan was purified, not hardened, by much suffer- 
ing, and came back to us knowing better than for- 
merly what is meant by the saying "that through 
many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom, 
of God." 

We all learn in some way what is "the fellowship 
of his suffering," and the father will some day thank 
God that when the tribulation came to his son be- 
cause of the word he was not offended, but remained 
true and faithful. 

His novitiate year passed quickly, during which, 
in his happy, magnetic life, he was a blessing to us 
all, and when the time came to receive him into full 
membership no one, no, not even those of the earth, 
earthy, could have looked upon him in his wholesome 
beauty without knowing beyond a doubt that he was a 
son of God. 

When the trumpets sounded on that glorious Sab- 
bath morning in June the streets of our city were 
thronged with men and women clad all in white, 



258 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

wearing on their breasts a cross of blood. How I 
wish all those who deny the divine life might have 
seen the faces in this most joyous yet solemn pro- 
cession! 

Here indeed the Christian virtues marched in 
happy unison — Love, Joy, Peace, Long-Suffering, 
Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Meekness, Self- 
Control, and in every sense were they walking by the 
Spirit. 

The sky above, the trees, the grass, the flowers, 
were rejoicing with us in the resurrection from the 
dead, and as the foremost ones reached the trumpet- 
ers a glorious chorus of thanks broke from a thousand 
lips, "Our brother who was dead is alive forever." 

It was in measured time and far more impressive 
than the grandest funeral march of the world's best 
composers, savoring as it did of life instead of death. 

As we were finally all gathered in our places, the 
processional merged into a soft refrain, sung almost 
under the breath: "If we die with him, we shall also 
live with him; if we endure," we shall also reign with 
him." 

Then while we knelt in silent prayer we were as 
conscious of the Spirit's presence as we might have 
been of the wind in the trees above us. 

In accordance with Alan's urgent request, Prof. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 259 

Davis was with us on this day, and truly the place 
was lightened with his glory, and we felt the influence 
all through the communion of his pure and lofty 
soul. 

Most impressively came the words from his lips: 

"For as in Adam all die, so also in Ohrist shall 
all be made aljve. 

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain 
of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by 
itself alone; but if it die it beareth much fruit. 

"Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. 
If the world hateth you, ye know that it hated me 
before it hated you. If ye were of the world the 
world would love its own. 

"My little children, let us not love in word, 
neither with the tongue, but in deed and truth. 

"Love worketh no ill to its neighbor * * * 
taketh not account of evil, beareth all things, be- 
lieveth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all 
things. Love never faileth * * * but it shall 
accomplish that whereunto I sent it. 

"For whatsoever is begotten of God overcometh 
the world, and this is the victory that overcometh the 
world, even our faith." 

Then came our chant, the words of which are: 

"For freedom, did Christ set us free; stand fast, 



260 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of 
bondage." 

At this point Alan came forth in sight of all, while 
our father in the gospel put to him the questions of 
life and death; and we knew by his sweet, uncon- 
scious, joyous face that he was in very truth alive 
unto Christ. 

When the final question was asked, ''Have you the 
faith of God, that all shall be made alive unto Him, 
and heaven be realized through unfailing love?" he 
replied in ringing tones, which sent a thrill through 
us all, "I believe in God, the Father Almighty" 

Following his confession of faith came the rite 
of baptism, typifying Alan's death to the world. and 
resurrection in Christ; and then Dr. Davis gave him 
this word of comfort from the Living One: 

"He that overcometh will I make a pillar in the 
temple of my God, and he shall go out thence no 
more; and I will write upon him the name of my God, 
and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusa- 
lem which cometh down out of heaven from my God, 
and mine own new name." 

After Alan had resumed his place in the congrega- 
tion, the professor read for us selections from our 
well-loved chapter the eighth of Eomans, and we felt 
its power anew: 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 261 

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them 
that are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of 
life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin 
and of death. 

"For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind 
of the spirit is life and peace; because the mind of 
flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the 
law of God, neither indeed can it be; and the j that are 
in the flesh cannot please God. 

"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if 
so be that the spirit of God dwelleth in you. 

"But if any man hath not the spirit of Christ he is 
none of his. For as many as are led by the spirit of 
God, these are the sons of God. The spirit himself 
beareth witness with our spirit that we are the chil- 
dren of God * * * if so be that we suffer with 
him, that we may be also glorified with him. 

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present 
time are not worthy to be compared with the glory 
which shall be revealed to us-ward. 

"For the earnest expectation of the creation wait- 
eth for the revealing of the sons of God. 

"For the creation was subjected to transitoriness, 
not of its own will, but by reason of him who sub- 
jected it, in hope, because the creation itself also 



26.2 THE PURE CAUSEWAY 

shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption 
into the liberty of the glory of the sons of God. 

'Tor whom he foreknew he also foreordained to 
be conformed to the image of Ms son. that he might 
be the first-born among many brethren; and whom he 
foreordained, them he also called; and whom he 
called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, 
them he also glorified. 

"What, then, shall we say to these things? If 
God is for us who is against us? 

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? 
Shall tribulation or anguish or persecution, or fam- 
ine or nakedness or peril or sword? 

"Nay; in all these things we are more than con- 
querors through him that loved us. 

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, 
nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor 
things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, 
nor any other creation, shall be able to separate us 
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our 
Lord/' 

A short silence followed and then came the prayer, 
echoed by every one in the vast assembly, as the face 
of our father in the gospel was lifted to the blue 
heavens above us. 



THE PURE CAUSEWAY 263 

"Now unto him that is able to guard you from 
stumbling, and to set you before the presence of his 
glory without blemish in exceeding joy, to the only 
God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be 
glory, majesty, dominion and power before all time, 
and now, and unto all the ages/' 

After this came the quiet communion season, the 
only sound that broke the stillness during the whole 
time being the words spoken by our leader, which 
were simply, "If any man hear my voice, and open 
the door, I will come into him and will sup with him 
and he with me. 

"I am the living bread which came down out of 
heaven; if any man eat of this bread he shall live 
forever." 

Not another word was spoken, not a prayer was 
voiced; but all were in the spirit and time ceased. 

One by one the sons of God slipped quietly away, 
renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that 
created them, and ready once more to be about our 
Father's business. 



"And now I beseech you, brethren, by the meek- 
ness and gentleness of Christ, that ye present your 
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well-pleasing to God, 
which is your spiritual worship. 

"And be not fashioned according to this world; but 
be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that 
ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and 
perfect will of God." 



MAY 31 1899 



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